Corruption
by Rolyn
Summary: Wanting in on the action Pepper takes matters inter her own hands with the help of organic alien technology that gives her abilities even Iron Man would be impressed with, the only issue is that its slowly changing her from the inside out. TonyPepper
1. Aliens

_Okay I was thinking about this story for a while so I'm finally going to get it out there since there are not many stories for this category and Iron Man has become my new obsession. I warn you now; I'm the master at making OOC work. It will seem like nothing changed, but let me let you be the judge of that._

_Rated T for flirtatious actions and dialogue _

_MethodTOmadnesS_

_Summary: Plan Field trip did not go according to plan and this was sort of a letdown for Pepper, but overall it was a plan only a mischievous and conniving mind could come up with. Tired of being just that third member of the Iron Man, Pepper looks into getting her own powers. Maybe alien tech could work for her but with her new abilities comes a new attitude. Tony did not know how right he was when he said they'd be in trouble if she went evil._

* * *

_Chapter One: Crash Landings_

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"Guys! Have you heard!? Please tell me you've heard!" Pepper exclaimed as she skidded to a stop by the lockers before her two close friends, Tony and Rhodey. The two boys exchanged looks before turning back to a very excited Pepper, who's hazel eyes were wide and sparkling with excitement; her mouth was pulled into one of her common large grins as she withheld a piece of information that she had been wanting to tell since she found out.

"No…if we did then we would understand what you were talking about." Rhodey stated giving Pepper a blank look. The ginger haired girl opened her mouth to retort only to clamp it shut once again, realizing that he was right. Her mouth twisted to the side for a moment as she got over the fact that she had been "told", before her excitement returned and she leaned in towards the two boys.

"Well, this is like top secret, but there was a crash landing last night not that far from here. The object that landed has yet to be identified, but they are positive that it's from space. My father is one of the investigators looking into this before they send the object off to the labs to be examined." She explained all in one breath. She wiggled her fingers for emphasis as she smiled proudly at the fact that she was the one who knew this "highly classified" information.

"Hey, maybe we're being invaded." Tony joked nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders. Rhodey offered a dry laugh while Pepper laughed openly as she gave the boy a playful slap on the shoulder.

"Funny, but in all seriousness, what if it really is some alien life form coming to invade and take over the earth!?" She said throwing her hands into the air to exhibit her enthusiasm. Rhodey and Tony exchanged looks once again before offering the ginger haired girl identical smiles. It was those smiles that told her that they thought she was crazy and her grin faded. "It could happen."

"Yea, in some sci-fi book. Aliens don't exist Pepper." Rhodey stated in a matter of fact tone. Pepper pouted as her brow furrowed. She was a girl that believed anything was possible so alien life never seemed like a fantasy to her.

"Whatever. So do you guys want to drop by my place and get a closer look at whatever it is after school?" She asked quickly, putting on her most convincing smile as she locked eyes with Tony for a moment. He laughed awkwardly as he looked to Rhodey for assistance but received none as Rhodey was too preoccupied with his shoes.

"Actually, Rhodey and I were going to the lab to work on the power capacity of the suit…to see how we can get power to last longer and come out stronger." Tony said with a slight shrug. Pepper's optimistic smile fell into a frown for a moment that quickly disappeared before either of the two boys could take note of it.

"Oh…anything I can do to help?" She asked with another hopeful smile. Tony looked anywhere but her face to avoid the guilt that her smile could induce. She clamped her hands before her chest, trying to come off as innocent just to boost her chances of actually being helpful to Team Iron Man as she now called it.

Ever since the Field trip plan was a bust due to all the flaws and gaps that she had not expected and did not plan for, Pepper had been trying her best to make things up to Tony, not because she needed to, but because she wanted to. She had felt rather incompetent, although she didn't show it and the fact that they had to receive help from Gene, Whitney, and Harry did not boost up her confidence at all.

"Actually Pepper…"Tony began quietly automatically keying the red head in that she was obviously getting rejected. Keeping her disappointment to herself she raised a hand to stop him from continuing and put on her most convincing grin, which she had come to master.

"Not a problem! I'll just check out the alien alone." She laughed lightly. Tony gave her a soft smile showing a minuscule portion of his regret for excluding her; in spite of it not being purposeful, it just wouldn't be much help if she joined them.

"It's not an alien Pepper." Rhodey inserted firmly. She raised her eyebrows as she turned to him, placing her hands on her hips and leaning in towards him.

"How would you know!? Do not say that it's because aliens don't exist either because you don't know that!" She exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at him. Rhodey let out an exasperated sigh as he rolled his eyes. Pepper had always come off as a crazy girl who needed a personality adjustment; however he would never tell her that. They were still friends and even if he did she would just attack him, verbally mostly.

"Okay Pepper you go visit your alien, but right now we're late to class." Tony pointed out. Rhodey gave him a strange look and Pepper quirked an eyebrow as she stared at the ebony haired boy that remained oblivious to the looks he was receiving.

"Since when do you want to get to class on time?" Rhodey questioned as he continued to eye his friend strangely. Before Tony could respond Pepper cut him off, leaning in close to his face, however he did not back down from the close proximity considering he was used to Pepper's straight forward attitude.

"Yea, you are like the king of tardy, the duke of bathroom breaks and the emperor of absences." She said. Tony laughed lightly at her analogies and shrugged carelessly.

"What can I say? I had a change of heart." He said in defense for himself. Pepper's mouth twisted to the side as she came off unconvinced. She remained in his face for a few more seconds before she actually realized that she was _in his face_ and backed down only to have her cheeks to be dusted a light scarlet color.

"Yea class is a good idea anyway." She said quickly before she swiftly turned on her heel only to dash down the hall as a blur of pink. Rhodey and Tony exchanged looks for s third time before sharing a shrug and proceeding with following there hyperactive friend.

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_Just a short beginning with not that much to it, but it's the basic foundation for the story and from here things get a bit more interesting. I warn you now; I'm just a tad bit crazy so things should not be normal. I hope the characters were not so OOC that your head is cocked to the side in confusion. Now show that review button some love and give me some feedback._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	2. Attached

_Otay I'm glad that so far this story seems to be liked so far. I've been watching IMAA for nearly the entire day because I was smart enough to learn how the recorder works :D and also I just got the movie on my ipod so I've been souped ever since. Anyways enough about me and my obsession, let's just get to the story, shall we?_

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Two: Attached_

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"Please Daddy!? Please, please, please, please, please, please, please!?" Pepper squealed a she followed her father throughout the house. Everywhere he went, she was right behind him, still begging with her hands clamped under her chin and a desperate expression on her face.

"No Pepper…" He said as he avoided looking into her pleading hazel eyes. She let out a high pitched squeal once again and paused her pursuit for her father to stomp her foot like a child. Mr. Potts turned his eyes upwards for patience before he heard his daughter's footsteps trailing behind him once again.

"But Daddy! Please I just want a small, little peak!" She said in defense for her chances. He let out an exasperated sigh as he quickened his pace to head towards his office. The ginger haired girl did not hesitate to follow, remaining on her father's heels.

"No Pepper. How many times do I have to tell you that this is classified information?" He questioned as he clenched his fists at his sides in his frustration. He loved his daughter with all his heart, but when she nagged so much it grated on his nerves enough to make him want to pull out his hair. He had nightmares about her nagging.

"Is classified information more important than your love for your one and only daughter?" She questioned back. Mr. Potts, caught off guard by her inquiry, glanced over his shoulder at her with confusion and surprise etched across his face. She put on her best pout and widened her eyes as she locked them with his and he grunted in frustration.

"Okay, I'll tell you something but I'm not going to show it to you." He sighed bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Pepper pouted for a moment, a bit dissatisfied that she wouldn't get to see her "alien", but getting information would be enough for her…that is, until her father fell asleep.

"Deal." She said smiling inwardly. He gave her a skeptical look for a moment before he leaned against the door to his office and motioned her to come forward. Putting on the whole "Keep it on the down low" act seemed to work to draw her in and make her even more excited than she already was.

"Okay, the object that crash landed came in the form of a meteor that cracked open upon impact. What was inside was…strange to say the least…" He began. Pepper gasped and clapped her hands together showing off her excitement.

"Really!? What was it!?" She exclaimed leaning in a bit. Mr. Potts gave his daughter a blank stare due to the fact that if she had refrained from interrupting, she would have been able to have heard him finish his explanation, therefore getting the answer to her question. However this was Pepper he was dealing with, so it was only natural that she would let her enthusiasm get the better of her.

When it came to anything out of the ordinary she was fascinated by it. Growing up as an FBI agent's daughter created an automatic fascination with anything that went against the natural or caused disturbance. She didn't step away from danger; she embraced it as though it were a lost friend, to the dismay of the people who worried for her safety. She had been referred to as rouge, strange, crazy, and in some cases psychotic, but she was just a normal girl with a love for action.

"Well after a first look over the object appeared to be moving. It's sort of like a thick black liquid. After closer inspection it has come to appear as though it is an organic substance with sort of green glowing veins; however the veins resembled that of technological based fibers…so we are not sure if it is mechanical or organic. It could possibly be both." He finished. Pepper's head cocked to the side as a new found fascination for, whatever this thing was, grew causing her plan to get an up close and personal look more significant than ever.

"Wow that is strange." Pepper muttered under her breath. Her father nodded as he reached for the door knob to his office door. This caught Pepper's attention and she took a step back. "So are you keeping it in your office?" She asked nonchalantly as she obliviously examined her nails. Her father gave her a skeptical look for a second time before nodding.

"Yes, but don't get any ideas…I can't have you risking the research of this organism." He said firmly. Pepper let out and exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes. Her father knew her too well but she still felt rather offended…or she acted it to throw of suspicion.

"Dad, I'm not gonna pull anything you can trust me." She said with a nonchalant wave of her hand and a coy smile on her face. He stared at her unconvinced and she returned to examining her nails. "Don't you only have half the sample anyway? It's already being examined at some top secret location."

"Yes, but this is our back up and it is only for external examination." He retorted in a matter of fact tone. Pepper nodded slowly before lifting her head to flash her father a sweet grin.

"Okay then. I promise to try to restrain my curiosity." She promised. Her father smiled at her softly, glad that she was actually putting an effort into keeping her eyes to herself, but as he turned to enter his office he didn't notice her grin turn into a conniving smile as she removed her crossed fingers from behind her back.

She strode away from her father's office, hearing the door click behind her as she did so, to head to her room where she waited a good six hours for her father to call it a day and turn in for the night. Once she heard the door to his office shut and his room door open she knew her plan would be going into action very soon. Giving him another hour to get dressed for bed and to get to sleep, she slipped out of her room at 11:30.

To keep herself undetected she did not bother to turn on any of the lights as she tip-toed down the hall, sliding along the wall every few steps for dramatic effect. Once she reached her father's office door she reached for the knob only to figure out that it was locked.

"Of course…" She muttered under her breath. Ever since her father had figured out the she was looking up criminal records on his computer, he had been locking the door to his office more often and even put up an extra lock on his computer, although the restraints did not stop the hazel eyed girl.

She reached into her white shirt and pulled out a skeleton key that she had obtained a while back from a sketchy character that she no longer associated with…considering that they were now in jail. Easing the key into the lock she managed to get the door open and she swung it open slowly to refrain it from squeaking.

Slipping into the room, slowly closing the door behind her, Pepper switched on the light to see her target resting on her father's desk. A locked iron brief case sat there just waiting to broken into and Pepper smiled to herself as she sat before the brief case and examined it. She took in the details, knowing that she would have to know how to break into the case. Without a moment's hesitation she took a hair clip that was holding her bang behind her ear and stuck it in the small key slot.

After jimmying the lock for a few seconds it clicked open and the case's top popped up. Her smile turned into a full out grin as she slowly pulled the lid back to show a medium sized covered dish secured in place. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the so called technology based black organism that was squirming slightly in the dish.

"Whoa…freaky." She muttered to herself as she picked the dish out of its resting place and brought it closer to her face for closer inspection. Her brow furrowed as she noticed those technologically based fibers that her father had described to her. As she looked closely she noticed that each "vein" had a star at the end of them. She found this incredibly strange and yet utterly amazing at the same time.

Glancing around for a moment as her paranoia got the better of her; she took hold of the dishes cap and eased it off. The organism seemed to move more feverishly in place once exposed to the air and out of pure curiosity and disregard for any danger she could be putting herself in, Pepper placed the dish on the desk and picked up the organism with her index finger and thumb with both hands.

It stopped moving once she had it dangling in the air and she narrowed her eyes in confusion as her head cocked to the side. It's veins seemed to be pulsing now and those stars at the ends began to glow a soft green. To her surprise the organism separated into two before crawling from her pinching grip and moving to her wrist. She gasped as the organism moved along her skin like water before solidifying on both her wrists in the shape of gauntlets.

"What the…" She trailed off as she brought her wrists in for a closer look. The green veins were now pulsing with was seemed like energy the same way blood would move through a human vein. She attempted to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. It stretched only to return back to its original place around her wrist. After playing a game of tug-a war with the thing she let out an annoyed groan and gave up in her efforts to remove it. She stared at her wrists annoyed only to be caught off guard by another trick.

The veins all gathered at on spot on her living black gauntlets to form on green pulsing star. Her mouth gaped open for a moment as she saw the green veins spread from those stars on her wrists and into her skin while the black gauntlets stayed in place. This was when she began to panic. She could feel the energy moving from the star through her skin and into her veins, unaware of the fact that it was being absorbed by her body. Her heart beat began to speed up and skip and suddenly he room became small and hot.

In a frantic need for help she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone searching through her recent calls. As that warm energy slowly spread through her body she came to Tony's name that soon became blurred as her eyes became unfocused.

"No…" She gasped as her consciousness began to fade from her. She gripped onto the edge of the desk as she felt the energy head for its final destination. It traveled up her spine and she could feel something changing. Her head began to throb as the energy finally flooded her head and she stood to her feet in an effort to get to the door, her cell phone still clutched in her hand. Unable to support herself she fell to the floor with a thud.

A groan escaped her as her body completely relaxed as the slow transformation she was unaware of was complete. Submitting to her bodies release she let go of her consciousness and passed out on the office floor.

* * *

_That is where I will leave it so hopefully all of you enjoyed this little chapter that will create this story from here on out. I don't think I'm good with supernatural aspects like this, but I try so please tell me what you think and I'll update as soon as I get the opportunity. Thank you all for reading and I hope you support this story. Remember to review people! It encourages me._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	3. Enhanced

_Okay first off I have to say thank you to all the people who reviewed the first two chapters. You are all McAwesome in my opinion…and that counts for something, right? Well thanks and all you people who were referring to venom, you are 99 percent correct. That one percent represents the fact that Pepper will be in more control then this alien thingy and trust me, there is a twist. Thanks again!_

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Three: Enhanced_

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"Pepper!?" Mr. Potts called out rapping on his daughter's door. He waited a few moments before proceeding in knocking again when he received no response. "Pepper you're going to be late to school if you don't…"

"If I don't what?" Pepper questioned from behind her father. He jumped and spun around to see his ginger haired daughter giving him a strange look; arms crossed over her chest and eyebrow quirked. He returned the strange look, but with more confusion as he eyed her daughter up and down.

"I didn't know you were awake." He pointed out. Pepper smiled cheekily and let her arms go limp at her sides. She seemed normal so what was so different? "Pepper…what exactly are you wearing?" He asked carefully. Pepper's smile faded for a moment as she glanced down at her clothing choice.

Instead of her normal pink dress with white under shirt, black tie and leggings and black high tops, she was sporting a black, gray and green plaid mini skirt, with black lace leggings stopping at her knee, a green t-shirt with a black star stamped out the front and a black tie that hung much more loosely than it normally would. She traded her black and white high tops for black boots and her normal pink side bag was now black with a green star stamped on the front matching her interestingly tight gauntlets.

"What? Is it bad?" She questioned sounding a bit panicky. Her father looked her over one last time and cracked a forced smile and shrugged his shoulders. Pepper glanced down at her clothes again and mimicked his actions. "I thought my wardrobe could use a change."

"Yes, but where did you find the time to do all of this?" He questioned, almost worriedly gesturing to her clothes. Pepper shot him that classic grin.

"Oh, this morning. I didn't do anything big with the limited time." Pepper said with a nonchalant wave of her hand. Mr. Potts nodded slowly, still giving his daughter that strange look that she paid no regard to and continued to smile like everything was normal. If she didn't consider this big, than she had some pretty wide standards.

"Okay…whatever. You just need to get to school." Mr. Potts said shaking his head as he moved to pass his daughter in the hall. Before he could pass, Pepper pulled the keys out of her pocket and jingled them with an enthusiastic grin on her face.

"Can I drive?" She asked hopefully. Mr. Potts face was frozen into a horrified expression.

* * *

"Um…Pepper?" Rhodey began carefully as he watched Pepper pull some books out of her locker. She slammed the locker shut and smiled at her friend. Upon seeing his questionable expression her smile faded and she pursed her lips. She had been receiving that same look all morning and to be honest it was annoying her. She knew that she had brought some change into her life but did it really deserve all this attention…well if it was from Tony she wouldn't mind, but all the other people were starting to aggravate her.

She glanced down at the gauntlets secured around her wrists examining them for the millionth time. She knew her father would be going crazy when he found out that his technology based organism had gone missing, but Pepper had done everything in her power to remove the thing once she had woken up from her fainting spell and nothing seemed to work. She had felt so different when she had blinked her eyes open. Her hearing was more acute so she could have sworn she could hear her father snoring down the hall, and her sight seemed to surpass twenty-twenty vision. Even in the darkness everything stood out so vividly.

Her body wasn't the slightest bit weak and even now she could still feel that energy that had radiated from the "alien", pulsing through her veins, sending out small impulses of stimulating energy that seemed to enhance all the parts of her body. She felt stronger and more stable and her thoughts seemed to move quicker…but that was no different than before considering she would just think and not put much into the thought process.

She knew her new living bracelets were to blame for her enhanced physic and she couldn't help but wonder just how much more she was capable, however, right now she had to focus on keeping the situation well hidden for the time being. She couldn't risk anything…

"What's the matter!? Not you too! What is wrong with people and keeping their eyes to themselves?" Pepper ranted. She was still the same Pepper which brought her some relief. The "alien" could have had some mind controlling abilities of some sort.

"Well Pepper, I have to say that your change is…rather drastic." Rhodey pointed out adding in an awkward cough. Pepper glanced down at her clothes one last time. She wasn't dumb; she knew exactly what she was doing when she threw this get up together. She had some form of difference in her mind...she wanted to mix things up for once. Why this was a crime? She had no clue.

"I think I look fine! I'm my own girl and maybe I just thought "Hey why don't I not wear pink for one day of my life?" Heck I should have just came to school dressed in cosplay and see how all of you react to that." Pepper said crossing her arms over her chest and pouting a bit. Rhodey laughed lightly and shook his head.

"I feel as though it's a cry for attention." He observed in an all knowing manner. Pepper gasped dramatically and shook her head frantically in protest. It was the exact opposite in her mind.

"No! I'm not trying to grab everybody's attention. Well I am, but not when it comes to my clothes!" She explained pointing an accusing finger at Rhodey who laughed again while pushing her finger away and raising his own hands in defeat and understanding to calm the ginger haired girl down.

"I never said you were trying to grab _everyone's_ attention…its more like one specific person." He pointed out as a sly smile came to his lips. Pepper narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously before something clicked in her head. Her eyes widened twice their normal size as she could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks in a blush.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." She tried to say as nonchalantly as she could, but her frantically darting eyes and deepening blush only gave her away causing Rhodey to laugh more openly at her expense. She pouted as he clamped a hand on her shoulder.

"Pepper, it's pretty hard to hide the fact that you are pretty much a Tony Stark fangirl." He commented. In response Pepper shook off his hand and swung her hip accordingly so that her back pack hit him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and she smirked triumphantly.

"Hey Rhodey I heard my name." Pepper jumped and spun around quickly only to see Tony giving Rhodey a strange look as to why he was doubled over and groaning. Pepper took a few steps back so that she was standing at Rhodey's side and Tony lifted his gaze to her. His brow furrowed for a moment as his head cocked to the side as his eyes scanned over her. "Do I know you?" he asked hesitantly.

"Oh thanks Tony! I feel cared about! I mean c'mon! One wardrobe change and people can't even recognize me anymore!" Pepper ranted throwing her hands in the air in her exasperation. Tony's blue eyes doubled in size and he had to keep himself from gaping. Instead he settled for a simple awkward smile.

"Oh…Pepper! You look…different." He managed to get out as his eyes took her in a second time; as he looked her over, he unconsciously smiled to himself. Pepper lowered her head a bit as she began to fiddle with her short ginger hair. Not exactly the comment she was looking for, but at least he noticed…well everybody noticed. "Actually you look amazing. Change is good." He added with a nod.

Pepper lifted her head and smiled brightly just as Rhodey was regaining his composer to stand up to his full height once again. He shot Pepper a glare which she was oblivious to as it bore into her. Tony was a guy to speak his mind and Pepper was thankful for that, while still hoping he would live up to that a bit more.

"Thank you! At least someone doesn't think it's weird." Pepper said happily as she clenched her hands into fists and glanced over at another spectator who had paused in the hall to take Pepper in. The stars on her gauntlets glowed for a millisecond before returning to their dull green color.

"No…it's pretty weird." Tony managed to laugh out. Pepper's expression fell and she let out a small huff as she crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. Rhodey gave her an all knowing look which she responded to with a glare. "Chill Pepper, I never said weird was bad."

"Yea because you're the most normal person on earth Mr. _Iron Man_." She hissed out the last part lowly, making sure no one could hear and Rhodey and Tony exchanged looks.

"So…" Tony began inconspicuously changing the subject. "How was that alien you were going on about? Did you get to see it?" He asked showing slight interest in what she had to say. He thought she would go into an excited rant but instead her expression went blank for a moment as she clutched onto one wrist. His brow furrowed in confusion as she forced a grin and laughed nervously.

"Oh…t-the alien? Yea turns out that it was a piece of organic technology. How that's possible I will never know, but this is outer space we're talking about. My father didn't let me see it but he gave me most of the details, like the fact that it seems to consciously think." Pepper said giving her gauntlets a nice tug. Even with her new found strength she couldn't remove the thing

"That's strange…so it could possibly be an alien." Tony said shooting Rhodey a look. Rhodey shrugged it off while rolling his eyes.

"Y-Yea, well time for PE!" Pepper exclaimed with a large grin as she pointed down the halls towards the gym.

"Uh…but we have Physics first." Tony pointed out. Pepper paused for a moment and laughed nervously as she turned and pointed towards the other end of the hall.

"I meant Physics." She said n a matter of fact tone. Tony laughed lightly and moved past her to go ahead however Rhodey waited for a moment until the ebony haired boy was out of earshot. Pepper lowered her arm and shot him a glare before letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Oh yea, you are definitely not obvious." Rhodey commented with a small chuckle. "Anybody, but Tony can tell."

"Shut UP!" Pepper growled as she brought her foot down onto Rhodey's with as much force as she could, and considering her new enhanced strength, it hurt ten times worse than if she were to have done it yesterday…which she had. She smiled proudly as Rhodey let out a cry of pain before she turned on her heel to see Tony all the way down the hall. "Tony, wait up!" She called out.

"Pepper!" Rhodey yelled shooting her a death glare. She ran to catch up with Tony, sticking out her tongue over her shoulder at Rhodey as she did so. Rhodey let out an exasperated sigh as he limped to catch up with them.

* * *

Okay, now it _was_ actually time for PE and today they were working on soccer. Each student took turns kicking into the goal where Gene was standing, offering to be golly. So far nobody had managed to get a ball past him. Pepper stood towards the back of the line with Rhodey in front of her and Tony behind her listening in on any problems in the city with his now cloaked ear phones.

"I hate gym…" Pepper groaned as the line quickly moved forward. It was just two people until her turn and nobody was paying her any mind as she complained about the hazards and issues that gym caused. You'd think a girl who ran from gun men and sometimes security, would take advantage of an opportunity such as gym.

"It's just something you'll have to live with." Rhodey commented as he stepped forward to kick the ball. Giving the kick as much force as he could, Gene effortlessly caught it and Rhodey shrugged before taking his place on the bleachers where the others who had taken their turn were waiting. Now it was only Pepper, Tony and Gene on the field and to the ginger haired girl's dismay, it was her turn.

"C'mon Pepper! Show that ball what for!" Their gym teacher, Coach McKins, barked. She was a woman who never spoke…she yelled everything whether she was just in a casual conversation or putting her students through drills. No matter how many times people told her to turn down the volume she would still go on yelling and barking like a rabid dog.

"Aw man…" Pepper muttered under her breath as she slumped her shoulders a bit. They quickly straightened back up when she felt someone clamp their hand on her shoulder. She glanced over to see Tony giving her one of those encouraging smiles as he tucked his head phones into his pockets.

"Just give it your best shot." He offered as advice. She gave a small nod and turned back to Gene who was out of his crouching position and was now standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. With Pepper's new vision she could see a small smug smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yea, give it your best shot, maybe it will get half way there." Gene called out. Tony laughed lightly, coughing afterwards as a horrible cover up. Pepper clenched her fists and the star on her gauntlets glowed again but for a few seconds longer than earlier. She looked at the ball set in front of her and narrowed her eyes as if the ball was her enemy.

She scowled for a moment before a look of determination came over her. She tucked her foot under the ball, nudging it into the air and letting it land and balance on her shin. Without a second thought she kicked the ball as high into the air as she could and right after the ball she launched into the air. People's eyes widened and time seemed to slow down as Pepper did three flips in the air before kicking out her right foot with as much force as she could.

The hit of her foot on the ball was audible as the ball took the force from her foot and turned it into enough momentum to go speeding towards Gene. The ball hit him square in the chest causing him to fly back into the net just as Pepper landed gracefully into a crouch position; her finger tips on the ground and one leg extended.

After a small moment of silence Pepper lifted herself and glanced around to see that everybody was staring at her and Gene was cautiously standing to his feet as he recovered from the hit.

"Whoo! Go Potts!" Harry called out from the bleacher right in Rhodey's ear. Coach McKins just stared on in amazement, for once, speechless and Pepper could feel her cheeks flushing again as people began to cheer for her kick, some of them commenting on how strange it was that she was able to pull off such a kick. Pepper glanced over her shoulder to see Tony giving her that wide eyed look she had now become accustomed to.

"Do I really have to follow up after that?" He muttered as he cracked a smile. Pepper smiled cockily as she stuck out her tongue.

"Even Iron Man wishes he could kick like that." She said with a wink. He laughed lightly and she felt very content and proud of herself; however she couldn't help but wonder how the heck she was able to do it.

She glanced down at her gauntlets to see that the stars on them were pulsing. She hid them behind her back and continued to bask in her praise.

…………..

_Yay, all done with chapter three. Oh and one little thing, I have absolutely no planning for this story so I'm making it up as I go along. I can't remember the last time I planned for a story. Oh well. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and I think that review button is calling your name. Go for it and tell me what you think._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	4. Identity

_Otay I managed to get no homework for this weekend but I just got home from a school concert (yes on a Saturday). My chorus teacher never makes any choir but Honor Choir sing, it actually gets annoying and now I'm tired. Oh well at least I can enjoy myself with updating this story yet again and hopefully you will all enjoy yourselves reading it. Thanks for choosing my story._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Four: Identity_

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Pepper found it incredibly difficult to focus in her geometry class because as her eyes darted between her notebook and the board she couldn't help but feel as though something was off. Her page was completely blank and the board was covered with notes about isomorphic figures which was a topic Pepper had never come across before in her life. However as she sat there staring at the board, she couldn't help but feel as though everything being taught, she already knew by pure instinct.

She furrowed her brow as she shook her head and began to doodle in her notebook. She had no conscious idea as to what she was drawing but she knew she was drawing something that had or would have some significance to her life considering her hand was moving against her will. She traced over a line as she cocked her head to the side looking over the design she had just made. It was like a full body suit, the fibers that pulsed energy through her body from the symbiotic creature on her wrists were apparent in the picture all leading together back to a star that laid at the center of the drawings chest.

She couldn't help but take note that she had shaded the whole suit black and it covered every inch of the body, except the head. Looking at it carefully she smiled to herself as she drew a mask over the face that looked suspiciously like her. (Where she had learned to draw so well was beyond her) the mask covered the mouth, nose and head, only leaving the eyes visible keeping the identity of the person unknown. Pepper smiled proudly as she dropped her pencil.

"Miss Potts! You couldn't possibly be the notes that are amusing you so much. Please repeat what I just said." Her teacher, Mrs. Roberts exclaimed. All eyes turned on Pepper, who without lifting her head let out an annoyed sigh.

"Two isomorphic parallelograms are only isomorphic when they have a matching number of vertices, edges and the each vertex has to be placed accordingly so that it is matched up with the other vertices of the original figure. In many cases when two figures are isomorphic they will have a similar amount of degree numbers such as having 2 degree 4's and 3 degree 2's. Also when 'coloring' a graph or isomorphic figure, being isomorphic can apply to the figures chromatic number." Pepper Explained quickly. Her voice was sure and she didn't hesitate once so Mrs. Roberts couldn't help but gape.

Pepper glanced up to notice the many strange stares she was receiving that were unlike the ones she usually received on a regular basis. She forced a smile as she lowered her head again, mentally scolding herself. She would have rather got the question wrong then attract as much attention as she was now.

"Pepper…that was beyond what I have taught. Wonderful job." Mrs. Roberts praised. Pepper nodded while keeping her head down. She was starting to freak herself out because she never paid any attention since she walked through the door and yet she knew exactly what was being told to her.

* * *

"Okay…just breathe…" Pepper coaxed to herself as she stood on the ledge of the Tomorrow Academy building. It was currently her free period and usually she would take this time to have some quality time with Tony, but he was busy doing heaven knows what. Pepper presumed he was in the city fighting some sort of chaotic issue that came up. She couldn't help but long to help; her need for excitement was getting the better of her and impressing the billionaire would be a minor plus.

For all she knew she could be committing suicide as she planned to jump from the ledge to the next building which was a good fifteen foot gap, but if her presumptions were correct she would be able to make it. "But what if I don't and end up a pancake on the pavement?" She asked herself.

As if to respond to her question, the pulsing energy that was moving through her system seemed to send an impulse to her mind telling her to move and before Pepper could mentally or verbally talk herself out of it. She crouched before pushing off. She clenched her eyes shut as she felt herself go flying in the air for a few moments that seemed to last an eternity on her part, but as she felt her feet contact with solid ground she couldn't help but snap he eyes open and grin.

She glanced over her shoulder to see the Tomorrow Academy on the other side of the fifteen foot gap she had just effortlessly jumped and out pure astonishment she let out an excited laugh. Looking ahead of her she saw another gap just waiting on her to conquer it accordingly. She smiled to herself as she took a running head start, reaching the buildings ledge in a matter of seconds only to launch off into the air again; this time her eyes were open.

She took note of the tremendous height she had received from that one jump and upon landing on the next building she skipped to a stop. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was erratic as she glanced at the school, two buildings away. Taking note of how far she had jumped and how high she had went with little effort, she couldn't help but pay more mind to the intensifying energy running through her now. It was like an adrenaline rush that was ten times more effective on her body.

She clenched a fist and instead of the star simply glowing it sent out an impulse of energy flowing through her veins causing them to become visible with that green glow before slowly fading. She smirked to herself as she took off again without a second thought. Her body wasn't strained at all as she took another leap to the next building which happened to be shorter than the one she was previously standing on. She took the liberty of doing two front flips before landing nimbly on her feet.

Everything seemed to broaden as she continued on. Her eyes took in more detail as she could see things that were at least a mile away. Her hearing was loud and clear as she took in the sound of New York City. She could hear that traffic not too far away, the sound of people walking along the ground and distantly she could hear the sound of repulse boot and hand thrusters. Pepper paused for a moment as focused in on the sound.

She kept that focus as she took off again jumping from roof top to roof top, throwing in a flip for good measure or just for the fun of it. She was indeed showing off, but not for anybody but herself. She was trying to prove to herself just what she was capable of doing and so far she proved a lot. Yesterday if she had tried to do some of the flips she was pulling off today she would have surely broken something significant.

The sound of repulse thrusters got louder as she began to approach some train tracks towards the outside of the city and less towards the city itself. Losing buildings to jump from, Pepper took a risky leap off the side of a flower shop before running towards the tracks and then along them. Small booms from explosions not doubt could be heard and Pepper broke into a run that Flash would be jealous of.

After approaching the location of the small explosions she could see a red suit circling around a green one. Pepper could easily identify both of them with her new improved sight and she wasn't surprised that she had found Tony but she was surprised that Killer Shrike had chose to show his face again after being brutally beaten by Iron Man.

Pepper contemplated the idea of approaching the battle but there wasn't much she could do. If she were to act out with her new abilities there would be a great chance that Tony would start questioning her to find the source of her new power and she couldn't have that. If there was some way to keep her identity well hidden she would insert herself, however she hadn't had the time to make a suit, or the means to. Heck, she didn't even think of it; the idea had just come to her.

Once again the symbiotic creature had tuned into Pepper's need and for what seemed like the first time in a long time, it began to move again. Pepper glanced down as it moved along her skin, making a layer of black come over her; slowly engulfing her body from the wrists. Pepper gasped as she pulled at it wondering what could possibly make it act up once again, but just like her effort before, all were in vein because the symbiot seemed stronger than the strength it provided her.

"Ugh! Not again!" She whined as the symbiot moved over her chest and down her body, crawling over her clothes before dripping down her waist, coating her body in a skin tight suit that had small fiber like veins pulsing. It moved up, wrapping around her head, hiding all but her ginger bang and her hazel eyes. "What the heck!" She complained. Although it was covering her mouth her voice was still loud and clear.

Finishing off its job the symbiot finally came together at the center of her chest creating that star that seemed like the powerhouse of the entire operation. Once Pepper concurred that the symbiot had finished what it was doing she glanced down to see that suit she had sketched in her book. It was obvious this thing had a mind of its own, but it somehow listened to her mind and offered her what she needed, or thought she needed; making her wants into a reality.

Pepper looked at her hands that were now coated in the black synthetic feeling creature and she smirked to herself. A new found confidence seemed to erupt within as she glanced up at the still occurring battle between Iron man and Killer Shrike. From what she had missed, it looked like her red suited friend had done something to get the villain mad because he was now flying at Tony at high speed.

Without giving the action a second thought Pepper charged in their general direction before launching into the air, contacting with Killer Shrike hard enough to send her flying back and to send him off course from his target and crashing into the unfinished tracks. Pepper skidded to a stop as she clenched her eyes shut and regained her footing, paying no mind to the fact that she was now being stared at by an astonished Iron Man.

* * *

_Okay I will leave it there for now. So far I have my villains in mind and I have finally figured out the purpose for Pepper's upgrade. Good thing to, because if I didn't this chapter would have been so pointless, but right now I feel as though it was well put away because yet again it is a turning point for the entire stories development. Well thank you for reading and I hope you are kind enough of telling me what you think with that review button. I heard it gives you cookies._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	5. Corruption

_Otay I just finished my homework and I'm very VERY bored right now and I was like "Wait…I could be updating instead of sitting here like a useless bag of flesh as my teacher likes to call me." Haha so here we are with chapter five hopefully it will be to your liking and you all enjoy it because I'll be sure to have fun writing (typing) it._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Five Corruption_

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Killer Shrike let out a growl of frustration as he focused on the person who had interfered with his plans to get revenge on the red clad hero who was still hovering obliviously in the sky with his head turned towards the black suited person, who was obviously a girl by the way the suit hugged her accordingly. He aimed his wrists lasers at her and fired without giving anybody a chance to blink.

Pepper's eyes widened as she saw the laser coming her way and she let out a small yelp as her body moved unconsciously, flipping her out of the way just in time. Her heart rate was erratic and she swallowed hard to keep herself calm. She wasn't as aware of how much danger she was putting herself in until she was in it, however she has handled worse and with the symbiot on her side she was sure to have some form of an upper hand.

Killer Shrike launched into the air and sped towards her with his wrist lasers aimed again and ready to fire. Pepper, this time actually being aware of the fact that she was going to be attacked flipped out of the way of each laser that was fired with amazing acrobatics and flexibility. She flipped to newer heights that were not normal, even for an Olympic gymnast and her perfect footing only made things easier for her.

The lasers stopped and Pepper furrowed her brow as to why she was no longer being attacked. The sound of repulse hand thrusters answered her question as Killer Shrike was sent flying again compliments of Iron Man. Pepper smiled admirably as Tony flew at Killer Shrike throwing his course away from her just as she did for him moments ago.

"Get out of here!" He ordered as Killer Shrike recovered from the straight forward attack and was getting his lasers ready to shoot again. Tony was not paying much attention, considering he was now talking to Pepper, or a stranger for all he knew. Pepper didn't say anything. Instead she launched at Killer Shrike clamping a hand on his wrist laser. Without thinking, again the symbiot worked on its own, showing just how much it was truly capable of. Pepper's eye's glowed green but only for a split second before that wrist laser began to give off green sparks before shattering to pieces.

Pepper repeated this action on the other wrist laser taking note of the fact that the symbiot moved with her hand, infesting Killer Shrike's technology before destroying it from the inside out. It was like it was shorting out, but Pepper knew better. It was more like the symbiot corrupted different pieces of technology before destroying it.

Killer Shrike stared at his now destroyed tech and glanced up at Pepper with shock. She smirked from under her mask and launched into the air before bringing her foot down to hit him square in the chest; similar to her soccer kick, except more forward than to the side. The armored villain was sent flying before hitting his head hard enough on the track to lose consciousness and Pepper nodded to herself as an energy pulse ran through her body as though she had just absorbed energy just from fighting.

"That was easier than I thought." She said to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest. Tony made it seem like such a big deal, and it seemed as though it was for a moment, but once things got done they seemed much easier than they initially were. Pepper was so proud of herself that she didn't know that Iron Man had just landed behind her and was approaching her.

"Pardon my French but who the heck are you?" He asked. Pepper smiled inwardly as she listened to the way the suit made Tony's voice sound more muffled but understandable and just as husky and nonchalant. She found it humorous that she knew exactly who he was and much more about him and he had no clue who she was when they hung out on a regular basis.

"I'm…" Pepper trailed off as she drew a blank. If she simply said Pepper than she would be the next holder of the prize for pure stupidity. She racked her brain for an idea of what to call herself because with a second identity came a second name. It had to go with what she did… "I'm Corruption."

"The name says it all doesn't it?" Iron Man mused as he crossed his arms over his iron clad chest. Pepper's brow furrowed as she mimicked his actions. There was something different about Tony when he was in his suit…well with a second identity came a second personality.

"You tell me _Iron Man_." She said as she knocked on his armor. A small hallow reply could be heard and she quirked an eyebrow at him as she retracted her hand. He laughed lightly and nodded.

"You got me there." He sighed giving his hand a nonchalant wave. "Well I have to say that was quite a display you did there. Although it was pretty random and I believe I could have handled that clown on my own."

"Oh just like a man to reject the assistance of a female! What's next? You're going to argue with me about asking directions back into the city?" Pepper said smartly as she cocked her hip to the side and pursed her lips under her mask. Iron Man laughed nervously as he raised his hands in defeat.

"I never said that I'm not thankful because I am, so thank you, I guess…" He trailed off, offering a hand. She looked at the offered metal hand and back at his masked face. This was her best friend who she was speaking to as if they had just met. It felt strange to her, however she would just have to roll with it for now.

"No problem Hot Rod," Pepper began. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she questioned her new nickname for her. Although she could do what she wanted because right now she wasn't Pepper, it was still new to her to be acting this way and she felt as though she wasn't doing this on her own. "I'm here to serve." She added with a small bow.

"That won't be necessary. New York is in very capable hands as you can see." Iron Man said gesturing to himself. Pepper laughed at how arrogant, her normally nonchalant and humble friend was acting at the moment. In all honesty she actually found it attractive to some extent.

"I'm sure, but shouldn't there be some form of balance?" She questioned as she circled him like a lion circling its prey. She stopped behind him and placed her hands on his cold metal shoulders. "Don't tell me this town ain't big enough for the two of us." She said lowly before shoving him forward a bit. Her new strength caused him to stumble and he activated his boot thrusters to hover over the ground before swerving to look at her.

"Is this a teamwork thing you're offering here?" He questioned. She shrugged as she strode over to him once again.

"If it is?" The thought of working with Tony, side by side, closer than usual made Pepper's heart jump into her throat. She had to resist the urge to smile, although it wouldn't matter if she did considering the smile would be masked.

"Sorry but I work alone." He said simply and solemnly. Her brow furrowed and her mouth was pressed into a hard line as she tried hard not to roll her eyes. She didn't know if this was just a guy thing or the fact that Tony felt as though it was his responsibility to keep the city safe from not only villains like Killer Shrike but Obadiah Stane as well, but she still felt rather dejected all the same.

"Well I believe you need to have…" She trailed off as she approached him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She couldn't tell if he had tensed or anything else but he took a step back. She smirked inwardly as she hoisted herself up so that she was balancing on her hands on his shoulders and she gracefully landed behind him before doing a split she didn't even know she was capable of, between his slightly parted legs where she did one last back flip so that she was standing in front of him once again. "A bit more flexibility. Don't you think?"

"Uh…I…ahem-I…" He stammered. Pepper laughed in response.

"Are you always this articulate or am I scaring you?" She chided. He laughed awkwardly with a small shrug. She nodded slowly as she gave him a friendly pat on the chest.

"Not Likely." He muttered.

"Well then I guess I'll be on my way." She sighed. _Free period doesn't last forever_. She reminded herself as she back peddled in the direction of the city.

"What's the rush? You have somewhere to be?" He mused smartly. She narrowed her eyes at him and sized him up for a moment before swiftly turning on her heel.

"Don't you?" She retorted before she took a good leap into the air. She took enough height to travel a good distance and she repeated this leaping action again, throwing in a few flips just to show off.

Tony watched the girl leave and his mask moved so that his face was exposed as his blue eyes followed her. He moved forcefully yet gracefully and for a moment there he actually considered following her. A girl clad in black with a green star stamped on her chest was not exactly normal, then again who was he to judge. He was sixteen year old with the intelligence to create technology decades before their time. Something about this girl, Corruption, seemed so familiar to him…whether it was her entrancing hazel eyes or that…slightly high pitched ranting that she had went into. Well that didn't matter now because there was no way he was going to be one of those guys who become infatuated after a few words were exchanged.

He couldn't help but admire her ability though. Her movements were fluid and precise and her agility was ten times faster than a normal person's should be. Obviously she had an enhanced amount of strength that enabled her to move with such swiftness and force and her ability to destroy things just by simply touching them was something he would have to keep in mind unless he wanted his armor shattered.

The sound of a currently injured villain who was still collapsed behind him brought Tony back to reality and his masked closed over his face once again as he swerved to grab Killer Shrike by the arm and fly him back into the city so he could be returned to his jail cell. All the while his mind was drifting onto that girl…when he should be focusing on flying in a straight pattern and not hitting any buildings.

"She was rather flexible…" He muttered to himself as a small smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth to be hidden by his mask.

* * *

_There I go again with the flirtatious banter, however it is a given considering they are not supposed to know each other. Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see reviews popping up. Thanks for reading and I'll update again soon._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	6. Star

_Yay I'm updating. Only because I feel as though I owe and update…actually I'm just trying to look busy so that my parents don't ask me to make dinner. I might do something to the food like always. Either the kitchen will burn down or the food will come to life and eat us. Yea I'm a weird cook…well enjoy!_

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Six: Star_

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Pepper sat on the edge of the roof over her bedroom; the curtains to her room fluttering outside the window as she stared off into the city. When she had gotten home from school that day her father was in distress about the now missing technology based organism and Pepper felt remorse and gladness at the same time. She didn't have any intentions of interfering with government studies, it was all inevitable from the moment the symbiot had latched onto her skin.

Her suit clung to every inch of her body only leaving her head exposed and the green star on her chest pulsed dimly in the dark with that intense energy that amplified Pepper's abilities more than she could imagine. Having the symbiot on her gave her a sense of reassurance and confidence. She knew she could escape danger with its help so she no longer had to worry about villains such as Mr. Fix It coming after her again and with her new abilities she thought of herself as a new help to Team Iron man, whether Rhodey and Tony knew it was her or not.

_Tony…_

Pepper couldn't help but flashback to the words the two of them had exchanged as their alter egos. She had felt so much more comfortable talking to him, being more open with her flirtatious and cocky side, just as he was. She was so into the conversation that she had no clue she was quoting and mimicking a portion of the movie The Incredibles which she had watched just one weekend ago with the twin children her neighbors trusted her with. That movie was the only way they would ever calm down.

Pepper only wished that her and Tony's time was not so limited and they would be able to spend more time together, even if they were not aware of who the other person was. Whether he knew or not, she didn't care, as long as she could just be with him. She shut her eyes as she smiled contently thinking about how excellent it would be if they could fight off the chaos that erupted in New York City on a regular basis, side by side. She was sure that they would be a forceful team because she alone was a force to be reckoned with.

As she let herself go; her mind drifting off and her senses tuning into her surroundings, she couldn't help but relax. It was late, her father had already retired to his room and the clock should be striking midnight at any moment but somehow Pepper couldn't find the means of relaxing enough to sleep anymore.

"Hmm?" Peppered hummed to herself as her back straightened and her head turned slightly to the left. She could hear sirens going off deep within the city…more off than she would have guessed her sensitive hearing would allow. She furrowed her brow as her mask moved at her whim; she only had to think and the action would be done in a matter of seconds. Her face was soon masked and she stood to her feet before going to the edge of her roof. She glanced down at the good twenty foot drop and jumped without a second thought.

She landed nimbly on her feet only making a soft thud once her feet hit the ground. She tuned into the sound of sirens again before smiling to herself and running into the street. She hopped onto the hood of her neighbors Benz making the alarm go off as she flipped off the roof and sped down the road. Where there was some form of crime Tony would be sure to be there and she was willing to go on her second crime run.

As she got further into the city the street became busier and she had to hop from car to car, receiving many crude and harsh comments from those who were not partial to having a masked girl doing front flips and hand stands on the roof of their cars. As she continued into the city she noticed something moving among the shadows, although this shouldn't be abnormal, what was troubling her was the fact that the person was the shadow and they seemed to be wearing a vest.

She paused and observed the shadow that was crawling around and dodging bullets from the police by disappearing into the ground before reappearing behind them only to disarm them. Pepper narrowed her eyes as she took in this…_creature's_ style. It blended in with the darkness and moved swiftly and conjured up portals.

"Should be easy enough…" Pepper muttered to herself sarcastically. She was about to move when she caught a familiar sound with her acute hearing. She smiled inwardly as Iron Man sped past her heading straight for the shadow man as she now called this creature. She stood back for a moment, observing just how Tony would handle this.

"Listen…whatever you are. Isn't it a bit late to be wandering the streets at night?" Iron man mused as he crossed his arms over his chest. The creature moved into the form of a man, no mouth, just eyes and what appeared to be braided hair. Pepper furrowed her brow.

"Back off Iron loser; the names Ebon. I'm here to claim some new turf." The shadow spoke. Obviously it was not any old creature. It seemed to be a human with enhanced abilities that gave him the abilities to act and move as a shadow.

"Too bad because the turf has already been claimed." Iron Man said as he aimed a hand at Ebon. The shadow man moved quickly, sinking into the ground just as Iron Man launched his repulse laser. The shot ended up hitting a parked car and Iron Man visibly cringed before he rubbed the back of his iron clad head. "Whoops…I hope they had insurance."

"I hope you have life insurance Iron loser because you're going to need it once I'm done with you." Ebon commented lowly as he came up behind Tony. Pepper's eyes widened as she watched dark tentacles wrap around Iron Man constricting him to the point that he couldn't move any of his limbs. "Ain't so tough, now are you hero?" Ebon taunted as his tentacles visibly tightened and Iron Man started to struggle. Pepper took that as her cue.

"Okay night crawler you can drop the Iron Ego now." Pepper called out as she flipped to the top of a bus that had been vacated due to the fact that people had fled the scene, except for reporters and some spectators who were turning their attention off of Iron Man and off of her. Ebon turned in her direction, still keeping his grip on Iron Man and his eyes narrowed.

"Got a girl fighting your battles for you Iron loser?" Ebon mused. Pepper's brow furrowed as she felt slightly insulted at the fact that a girl was so put down when she was putting her efforts into helping.

"Not really but she was a wonderful distraction." Iron Man commented nonchalantly. Before anyone could understand what he meant his chest laser went off cutting through some of the tentacles causing Ebon to cry out in pain and loosen his grip. Iron Man flew from his bondage and hovered overhead as he aimed his hand repulse thrusters at Ebon accordingly.

However before he could fire, Pepper had taken it upon herself to go straight into hand to hand combat with the shadow, which was not very affective considering Ebon's abilities. Each jab, punch or kick she offered either went through him or he simple moved out the way.

"I'm getting tired of you wonder girl." Ebon muttered as he launched at her. Pepper's eyes widened for a moment before her eyes clenched shut. The symbiot keyed into her distress and took over from there. The star on her chest began to spark with what appeared to be green electricity before launching out into a star shaped green unibeam. The attack cut through Ebon stopping him in his tracks and causing another yell of pain to come from him.

"Light…" Pepper muttered to herself as she watched Ebon double over in the protection of a shadow to recuperate. "It makes him weaker…" She said as a plan began to form in her head. She glanced at Ebon who looked just about ready to get back up and she looked at Iron Man who was going in to attack again. "Hey Hot Rod distract him!" She called out. Iron Man turned towards her for a moment before shrugging as he launched another hand thruster beam at Ebon.

Pepper made her way towards one of the many theaters in New York and found just what she was looking for waving back and forth at the front of the building. She gripped the large light and lifted it over head before she ran back to the scene where Iron Man was dodging many of Ebon's tentacles. Pepper placed the light on the roof of the bus and aimed it accordingly before placing her hands on the light.

"Shield you eyes Hot Rod!" She called out. Iron Man glanced at her once again before following her instruction and shielding his eyes while moving out the way. Pepper let out a small grunt as her powers allowed energy to be put out instead of corrupting the object and absorbing its energy. The light's luminosity intensified to the point that it was blinding and it cut through Ebon like a knife causing him to groan and writhe with pain as he slowly began to disintegrate. Pepper smirked to herself as Ebon collapsed on the ground and police surrounded him.

Pepper removed her hands from the light that automatically shut off and Iron Man removed his arms from his eyes. He glanced over at Corruption who was standing there watching at Ebon was taken in by the police and being told his Miranda rights. She nodded to herself before turning to leave. She hopped down from the Bus and did a flip onto a car before launching into a high jump that put her on a roof top; applause and cheering following her as she retreated.

Before Tony could comprehend what he was doing, he was flying after her. She glanced over her shoulder seeing the iron clad hero following her close from behind and she smiled inwardly as she forced herself to move faster. Her legs moved faster almost making them appear invisible and each jump she made from roof to roof was wider and farther.

"Hey! Wait!" Iron Man called out to her. She kept going and Tony furrowed his brow from within his suit. He urged his boot thrusters to put out more energy and before Pepper knew it, she was scooped up into the air by her arms. She yelped as he was carried to a higher altitude that she knew she could not jump to or from. He brought her above the clouds and on instinct she spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"This could be considered as kidnapping on so many levels. Don't they tell you anything about stranger danger in school?" Pepper knew for a fact that they had made an announcement about "stranger danger" a while back. It was mainly about how perverted men would abduct innocent teenage girls such as her.

"Sorry, but you were in such a rush to leave, I didn't think you'd be willing to leave a glass slipper for me." He laughed. Pepper smiled from under her mask and wrapped her legs around his waist just to make sure she was secure as they flew above the thin night clouds. The sky was like ebony velvet, spotted with small diamonds that were stars. She gazed on contently before glancing at Tony's masked face.

"Care to explain why you needed to catch me Hot Rod?" Pepper asked quietly. He turned his sight off of flying and onto her. He made it so that only his blue eyes were shown and they locked with her hazel ones.

"I just wanted to say thank you…again for helping me out there. I have to say the process was much quicker and less painful." He sighed.

"It's no big deal…I just want to help." She said cheerfully as she smiled with her eyes. Tony's blue eyes focused on her and his brow furrowed behind his mask.

"You seem so familiar. Have we met?" He asked carefully. Pepper avoided his eyes at that point and focused past him, on the midnight sky as she thought of the proper response.

"Maybe…what do you think?" She asked back. He shook his head and she laughed lightly.

"I don't know why but I feel as though I know you." He laughed awkwardly. She laughed along with him as she adjusted herself so that she was more pressed up against the cold armor that suited her close friend…who she enjoyed being close to.

"I guess I'm just one of those people…" She commented softly as she brought her eyes to meet his once again. The gentle, content look in her eyes caused Tony's cheeks to uncharacteristically flush and he was glad that his mask hid the fact that he was blushing.

"You're eyes are amazing…" He breathed unconsciously. Once he was aware of what he had just said and heard her nervous giggle he couldn't help but mentally scold himself for letting his mouth to move against his will.

"Thank you Hot Rod. Those baby blues of yours are pretty entrancing too." She laughed as her cheeks burned under her mask. Tony never complimented her in such a manner before and since her eyes were emphasized considering they were the only things exposed on her person; it would only be natural that he took notice of them. "So where exactly are you taking me?" She asked lowly.

Tony paused in the air as he had them now hovering vertically in the air. He wrapped her arms more securely around her waist as she let her legs fall from his waist since it would have looked awkward to have her latched onto him in such a manner. The situation was so similar to the night Tony had swooped in to save her from Mr. Fix It's henchmen. She had been so content just being able to fly with him with him holding her close, even with the armor acting as a barrier. Just knowing it was Tony was enough for her.

"I don't know? Should I take you home?" He asked with a shrug of his shoulders. Pepper automatically shook her head.

"No way, and give away who I am? I rather have you wondering just who is that girl with the strength of a hundred men and the agility beyond humanity." She laughed. Tony laughed along with her finding her response fair enough. "Why don't we just get to know each other better?" She offered, although she knew everything there is to know about Tony, she just didn't want the night to end. Not just yet…

"Excuse me but is Star asking me on a date?" He asked smartly. She had to give him praise for coming up with a fitting nickname. There were stars on her wrists and a large one planted on her chest so the name was fitting.

"Aw you found me out." She said sarcastically before flicking the front of his mask. Tony couldn't help but laugh once again. This girl was so easy to be around…easy to talk to although she did do most of the talking. Something about her just automatically drew him in…whether it was her alluring hazel eyes or her laugh…

_It sounds just like Pepper's… _

Tony's brow furrowed at the sudden thought. When did Pepper come into the situation? He shook his head and focused on Corruption who was still in his arms gazing up at the sky. He stared at her eyes taking them in, finding the excited, hyper glimmer in them so familiar.

"You okay there Hot Rod?" Corruption laughed nervously as she looked into what was supposed to be his eyes. He nodded numbly and she cracked a smile from under her mask. "Well then how about a night on the town? I really don't want to go home just yet…"

"I guess we're on the same page then."He commented. Tony smiled from under his mask; a gentle and satisfied smile that he had only shown once before and that was when he and Pepper had successfully finished their section from Hamlet without a single flaw obtaining an A. "Hold on Star…" He instructed before he activated his boot thrusters to push them forward.

Pepper let out an excited laugh as she clung to him tighter once again.

* * *

_This chapter was so very cute and yes the last chapter did have a reference to The Incredibles in it. I was hoping someone would catch that because I was babysitting and the kids I watch think that their Dash and Violet…crazy kids. Oh and I don't know if any of ya'll know just who Ebon is. He's like my all time favorite villian from Static Shock so I sent him to New York to go up against Iron Man. Anyways I hope this chapter was to your liking and send me a review to let me know what you think._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	7. Voices

_Yay update time even though I'm doing this well past midnight and I have school in the morning. I should be getting to sleep, but who can sleep when there are chapters to be uploaded and typing to be done? I can but I won't and say I did. I'm doing this under the watchful eye of my parents…they don't like when the computers on too late._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Voices_

* * *

"Tony you need to get yourself together. You're falling asleep on your own two feet." Rhodey commented as Tony leaned against his locker; his eyes half lidded and a soft smile playing his lips. Rhodey gave his best friend a strange look before rolling his eyes just as Pepper was approaching them.

Yet again she had decided to throw together another new outfit sporting a black halter dress with a green t-shirt underneath and knee high black combat boots and of course around her wrists was her gauntlets.

"Hey guys, what's up!? I'll tell you what's up! Everything! Everything is simply perfect." She babbled as she leaned against the locker next to the dozing Tony. She glanced at him and her brow furrowed for a moment before she turned to Rhodey for an explanation, although she had a pretty good guess as to why he was falling asleep while standing up. "What's up with Tony?"

"He's really tired…don't know why though." He muttered as he threw a strange look at his best friend. Tony just continued to fall in and out of consciousness with that smile still etched across his lips.

"I just had a long night…" Tony sighed before going straight into a yawn. Rhodey gave him a blank stare as Pepper grinned as her cheeks began to become dusted with light rosy color as she blushed.

"Really? What'd ya do?" She asked coyly as she clamped her hands behind her back. She knew exactly what he did and she enjoyed every moment of it. Corruption and Iron Man had exchanged jokes and laughter and at one point they decided to test each other's strength with Pepper coming out as the victor which surprised Tony to some extent. It was like they were on an actually date…too bad they had no clue who the other person was…as far as Pepper knew.

"This mega human named Ebon was causing trouble in the city. Corruption and I handled it though." Tony explained in a monotone, although his mouth had curved into a goofy grin which made Pepper grin in return.

"Corruption? You mean that new hero everyone is talking about?" Rhodey said as his brow furrowed in curiosity. Tony nodded numbly and Rhodey's mouth twisted to the side in a skeptical manner. "How do you know you can trust her?"

"What do you mean?" Tony and Pepper chorused throwing a simultaneous glare Rhodey's way. Rhodey took one step back before speaking; avoiding the dirty looks he was receiving.

"I mean a super powered girl comes out of the blue claiming she wants to help but you don't know anything about her." Rhodey said simply with a shrug of his shoulders. The glares turned into full out glowers at this point. "I mean she seems to have proven her point but you never know what could happen."

"I think she's perfectly trust worthy." Pepper snapped crossing her arms over her chest. Nobody noticed her eyes flashed green for a moment before returning to their normal hazel.

"_How dare he question us…?"_

Pepper's brow furrowed for a moment as she tried to locate where the voice had come from. It took her a few moments to figure out that the small, almost sadistic sounding voice was very similar to hers and was coming from the back of her own mind.

"_We're completely trustworthy…all we want to do is help Tony."_

"All she wants to do is help Tony." Pepper said firmly as her hands clenched into fists. The look on her face was menacing and it caused Rhodey to take another, much larger step back.

"That's believable. I mean she obviously has good intentions…not to mention her suit is rather _flattering_." Tony commented as his glare softened and his mouth turned up into a smirk. Pepper pressed her lips into a tight line as her cheeks burned intensely. Rhodey brought his palm to his forehead and shook his head shamefully. "What I'm a guy and by the way it fits her, its hard not to notice."

"I always understood you were observant, but not in that kind of way." Rhodey muttered dryly. Tony shrugged as his eyes drifted shut again.

"You'd notice too if she was flaunting about in front of you." Tony sighed as he switched to a more comfortable position against the lockers. Rhodey shrugged carelessly as he nodded slightly in agreement. Becoming a bit uncomfortable with the conversation Pepper raised a hand.

"Subject change since I am a girl!" She said as she tried to look as disgust as possible. Tony and Rhodey exchanged cheeky grins before turning back to their ginger haired friend. It wasn't until then that Tony took Pepper in letting his eyes travel up and down to get a good look. He stopped on her eyes and focused as he found that familiar feel come over him again.

The exact sparkle that exhibited her emotions matched Corruptions eyes perfectly, however it was hard to determine people by just their eyes…but the likeness was uncanny. Pepper turned towards him and their eyes locked for a moment and Tony quickly forced a grin and turned back to Rhodey. Pepper blinked stupidly before a small smile of her own came across her lips.

"You know what I just wouldn't mind seeing her again…she seems like a very…interesting person." Tony spoke up choosing his words carefully. Pepper's heart drop in the most pleasant manner as she tried to fight back yet another blush.

"I'm sure you'll see her again." Pepper said with a confirming nod. She smiled inwardly as her small smile turned into a smirk. "In fact I think she'll be around the Empire State building around eleven." She added. Rhodey narrowed his eyes at her in a skeptical manner and Tony's expression seemed to liven at the small bit of information.

"Really?" He questioned as he pushed off the locker to face Pepper whose smirk grew as she nodded. Rhodey clamped a hand on Tony's shoulder and pulled him back so that he was now the one standing before Pepper. Said girl pouted and Tony shrugged carelessly as he leaned on the lockers once again.

"How would you know?" Rhodey asked lowly letting his skeptical look turn more suspicious. Pepper narrowed her eyes at him in a glare.

"_There he goes again; questioning us…"_

"What does it matter to you?" She snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest. Rhodey was a bit surprised by Pepper's hostile behavior. She was in some cases rude or just a bit smart, but never has he seen or heard such an attitude come from her and he's been going to school with her for a while.

"Pepper…" Rhodey began. She scoffed rudely, cutting Rhodey off completely. She swiftly turned on her heel sticking her nose in the air as she literally strutted down the hall instead of her normal, almost skip-like walk that showed off her excitement any hyperactivity. A new air about her traveled with her as she ran a hand through her ginger hair with a scowl on her face.

"Whoa…" Tony breathed as he pushed off the lockers once again to stand at his friend's side. The two boys watched as Pepper disappeared down the hall and Rhodey nodded numbly with disappointment written all over his face.

"I know. I've never seen Pepper like that before…she wasn't her normal talkative excited self." Rhodey said almost sadly. Tony shook his head as a lopsided grin formed on his face.

"No I was talking about that walk. I've never seen her walk like that." He said nonchalantly. Rhodey sucked his teeth as he slapped his ebony haired friend upside the head. Tony let out a small yelp as he glared daggers.

"Man since when did your hormones dominate most of your thought processes. This is Pepper we're talking about!" Rhodey exclaimed throwing a hand in the air for emphasis. Tony shrugged as a sheepish look came over him. "I'm seriously worried because there might be something wrong and as her friends we are entitled to figure out what."

"Fine, I'll talk to her later and see if I can get anything out of her." Tony sighed as he raked a hand through his hair.

Although he was not making as large of a deal about the situation he had identified Pepper's sudden change in attitude. Since the day before she had been slowly changing, switching her sweet goofy smiles for crooked smirks and giving in her normal preppy look for one that resembled more revealing, dark clothing. She held herself differently which Rhodey had just pointed out and her attitude had taken a sudden shift. Worst of all, her normal tomboyish FBI brat style has been replaced by an attitude that could easily shift on people.

Tony wouldn't say the change was not any good but there were obviously more downsides than there were good. Anyways he had always enjoyed Pepper because he had never met another girl like her; one who wanted to be involved with danger and enjoyed the rush of the erratic life. That was what intrigued him the most about her when they had gotten to know her.

"Do you believe her about that Corruption girl being at the Empire State building?" Rhodey finally inserted with a small sigh. Tony was pulled from his thoughts and shrugged in a clueless manner.

"I have no clue, but it's probable considering Pepper knows more about different people than we do. She practically knew every detail about my life before I even knew her name." Tony reminded. Rhodey nodded slowly as he glanced down the hall where Pepper had retreated to.

"Are you going to go?" Rhodey inquired quirking an eyebrow.

"I'll just check; that's it." Tony said with an affirming nod.

* * *

Pepper let her feet dangle over the edge of the Empire State building as she leaned back on her palms. She was staring up into the sky once again, just wondering about the vastness of space and how it had provided her with the best thing that could happen to her. The symbiot coated her body accordingly practically hiding her in the darkness except for the green star that would send out little pulses of light that illuminate the area around her.

She was so thankful for the symbiot for attaching itself to her and her guilt about how this caused a large dilemma for her father had subsided because she had reasoned that since the symbiot was being used for the greater good, she was making up for it being missing. Well it was more of that voice in the back of her head reasoning with her, bringing her back to her state of tranquility.

She didn't need to worry because she didn't deserve to. She had the right to rack up the benefits to her new power and nobody could judge her for it…

"_Not even Rhodey…"_

Pepper's hand clenched into fists as she was reminded of how Rhodey had the audacity to question her when she was clearly doing this to help Tony; that was her main goal. Pepper knew she'd do anything for Tony; heck she got foam up her nose and disguised herself as a CIA agent for the guy. Rhodey was the one that said that Plan Field Trip would have ran smoother if things were better thought through and he also brought up Whitney and Gene, too people she disliked drastically.

"_They are just too stuck up rich kids…they aren't as important as we are"_

"I'm important." Pepper growled under her breath.

"Well of course you are." Pepper did a back flip onto her feet so that she was facing the person that had caught her off guard. Her fists were clenched and she had fallen into a fighting stance only to relax when she saw Iron Man hovering before her. She stood up straight and smiled with her eyes since her mouth was hidden.

"Are you stalking me _Hot Rod_?" She joked coyly as she tried her best to suppress a laugh. It was so amusing about how she had planned the entire thing and yet she had to act as though this was a surprise to her.

"Don't flatter yourself _Star_." He retorted as he landed gently in front of her. Pepper took advantage of this and took a step towards him.

"_Tony…"_

"Aw so you just wanted to see me?' She cooed letting her arms snake their way around his armored shoulders. Tony stammered nervously in his suit as Corruption pulled him closer into her. "Huh, more man than iron." She observed.

"Yea…" Tony breathed as he looked away from her eyes. They were still hazel but something seemed much more different with them now. The seemed almost darker and this caused his brow to furrow in confusion. Thinking about her eyes only brought him on the subject of Pepper and just how much he was suppressing his concern for her. He hadn't gotten his chance to speak to her in school because she was distancing herself, especially when Rhodey was around.

"What's wrong Hot Rod?" She questioned sensing his sudden change in emotion. He turned back to her and shrugged lightly.

"One of my friends…she's been worrying me and another friend lately." He said simply Pepper automatically knew he was referring to her because if he had any other friend that was a _she_, they would be halfway on their way to Pluto by now. She didn't want to worry him…

"_We know its him…why not let him know."_

Pepper paused for a moment, her face going blank as she tried to distinguish her own thoughts from this voice in her head. Up until now it seemed so informative and it always seemed right but what it was suggesting wasn't the best idea. If she revealed the fact that she knew it was Tony, he might want to know he she was in return.

"_He won't figure it out…we're too smart for that…"_

"So the man of iron actually has a conscious." She mused lowly.

"Excuse me?" Iron Man asked cocking his head to the side. On the inside Tony was panicking at the fact that she had used his last name.

"I know it's you Tony Stark." She said simply as she placed a hand on the back of his head.

"I think you're confused. I know Tony Stark but that's just about it." Pepper rolled her eyes as her hand that was behind his head sparked and the symbiot moved through the tech of the armor triggering the opening of the mask. Tony's blue eyes widened twice in size and she quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm not stupid." She said simply.

"I forgot you could mess with technology." He groaned slapping a hand to his head; then a though occurred to him. "How do you know who I am?"

"_Tell him Pepper, the bond will be stronger between us and we can finally be together the way we want to be..."_

Before Pepper could ponder over the idea the symbiot was crawling down her face causing her mask to go with it. Tony's brow furrowed for a moment as he began to take in her features, recognizing the short ginger hair and the freckles.

"Because I'm Pepper." She said simply. Her face was blank of all emotion while Tony's expression was unreadable.

* * *

_GASP!!!! Yes I know this was just a bit of a large leap in the story. I actually wasn't expecting to do this but then I came up with a new ending while doing some research…which I barely do. So yea I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and drop me a review and tell me what you think. Let me apologize now for the cliffhanger. Haha_

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	8. Judgment

_Gahhh Finals start this Thursday. Chapters won't be popping out as frequently because of this. I'm so not happy to take them but each final I get done is one day closer to the end of the year. Hopefully my teachers will just let us miss the last two days of school because it's annoying when you go to class and you're the only one that shows up. Yea it's happened multiple times._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Eight: Judgment_

* * *

"Surprised?" Pepper asked as a small smile graced her features. Tony could do nothing but stare on completely shocked beyond belief although he couldn't help but feel as though this made sense in his eyes; the strange behavior, the similar eye color, the very similar personality…despite all this it was hard to except that the girl that is stronger, faster, possibly now smarter than him was his best friend. Not to mention he was just starting to develop some form of feelings for this mystery girl.

"Yes! Very! How did you…when did you…_what?_" Tony almost hissed as he brought a gloved hand to his head. Pepper laughed off his surprise and a grin began to pull at the corners of her mouth. She seemed so at ease…probably due to that kind voice coaxing her through the entire situation.

"Oh come on! You have to know why I've been doing this!" She said cocking her head to the side. Looking into his very confused expression her grin faltered a bit and she let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I wanted to help you Tony."

"How are you able to do all of this?" he asked paying no mind to her explanation. She shrugged stupidly as she tried her best to seem innocent. There was no way she was going to tell him about her symbiot and risk having it taken away. That would take away her helpfulness to not only him but the city as well. "Pepper you have to know…" Tony pressed.

"Really it's just as confusing to me as it is to you." She lied perfectly pouting a bit to sell her case. Tony stared at her long and hard before shaking his head, trying to clear it of the confusion that was clouding over his mind. He let his eyes travel downwards, stopping on the pulsing star on her chest. Just as Rhodey had mentioned, he was observant.

"Is it the suit Pepper…?" He asked quietly. She shrugged carelessly in response clamping her hands behind her back.

"_Looks like we underestimated him…"_

Tony narrowed his eyes for a moment as his mask closed around his face. He muttered the order to examine the suit and Pepper's acute hearing caught the command causing her to clench her fists. It was not necessary for him to know all the details. He withheld some of the Iron Man details for a while so she had her right to her own secrets.

Tony's computer gave him the details about the suit saying it was made mostly of organic compounds and there were high levels of radiation and excess power being absorbed into Pepper's body. Tony's brow furrowed as he tried to understand what the technology based products in the thing made it a living creature…however that wasn't what shocked him. What surprised him was that the living thing was slowly developing. Every few seconds its intelligence would increase…and more and more the pulses would intensify getting closer to Pepper's brain.

"Pepper that thing…it isn't normal." Tony pointed out in a low tone as his mask opened once again so he was talking to her face to face. Pepper scoffed in an identical manner to the way she had dismissed Rhodey earlier and Tony narrowed his eyes. "Is that the alien that you were talking about?"

"Jealous?" She questioned quirking an eyebrow. Tony shook his head, not to dismiss the accusation but to show just how disappointed he was. "The symbiot has helped me! I think better, I move better, I just feel better in general! It gives me opportunity Tony!" She explained throwing her hands in the air for emphasis.

"Pepper it's a living being feeding off of your humanity!" Tony bringing her palm to his forehead once again. Pepper rolled her eyes as a small smirk came to her lips.

"Don't you think I would be aware of that? This thing is investing into me not taking out. It gives me the power that has helped you twice…now I don't have to worry anymore and best of all I'm a better help to you." She said softly as she took a step towards him. He shook his head again and her brow furrowed.

"No way, that thing could be dangerous…it's developing a mind of its own and once two minds inhabit one person its schizophrenia, therefore making you crazy Pepper!" He responded sharply. Pepper turned away from him and made her way to the edge of the building, looking over to see the life going on down below on the New York streets.

"I thought you would understand…" Pepper muttered wrapping her arms around herself. A small twinge of guilt sprung up in Tony and he lowered his head for a moment before approaching his friend once again. He placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her back to him to only have his guilt deepen by the saddened look etched across her face…too bad he didn't know it was fake. "I only wanted to do this for you…" She added softly.

"Pepper…you didn't have to…" Tony's words died on his lips when he took note at just how close they now were. He swallowed nervously as his eyes darted between her brown eyes and her pursed lips.

"I did…" Pepper trailed off as she looked at his own lips before letting her eyes lock with his once again. Tony lost all train of thought as he tried to lean back a bit to increase the small gap between them, but Pepper only followed, allowing her lips to brush against his in a chaste kiss.

"_That's it…distract him…show him how much you care about him…"_

Pepper silently agreed with the voice in her head and leaned into Tony letting a hand travel to the back of his head to pull it down so that his lips could meet hers. She clenched her eyes shut tightly as she sensed Tony tense before her; that small voice in the back of her head laughing happily…almost manically. Tony submitted for a moment nearly willing to respond until something came to him, reminding him that Pepper wasn't herself right now. No matter how much he enjoyed the feeling of her lips pressed against his, he needed to keep in mind that things were not normal.

He pulled away against her will and she pouted as her eyes narrowed into a small glare as Tony took a step back taking in small pants of air.

"What's wrong?" She asked nonchalantly as her eyes followed every minor movement he made. He lifted his head to lock eyes with her; remorse and concern overwhelming him although she paid this no mind.

"Pepper…that thing needs to come off." He said as he extended a hand to her. He said the magic words that triggered with her eyes flashing grin and that voice in her head letting out a low growl that rumbled in her own throat causing Tony to give her a strange look.

"No way. Besides there is no way this thing can come off. I've tried." She said lowly as she back peddled once again, this time with Tony following her.

"Obviously not enough! Pepper you have both Rhodey and I worried and that symbiot is probably the reason why your changing."

"Oh so now I'm changing?" Pepper snapped automatically. "Well maybe this change is for the better! Maybe I don't want the symbiot to come off!" She practically yelled. That was it for Tony. He wasn't one to be forceful unless necessary, especially when it came to a friend, but when this friend was possibly in danger of losing their humanity he knew something had to be done.

Tony reached for her hand, getting a tight grip on her wrist. Pepper gasped and jerked her wrist away and it took most of Tony's power not to be jerked with her arm. He had to keep in mind that she was much stronger now.

"Pepper, you need to listen to me. That thing needs to go." He said as he tried to jerk her arm back. Instead she lifted him off the ground with a menacing scowl on her lips. She looked up at him only to show her hazel eyes were no longer hazel…or even green, they were pure white.

"_Oh Tony you do not understand just how in the wrong you are…"_ She said. Her voice was no longer that normal excited sounding pitch that Tony was used to. It was scarily calm and low, abounding mixed with a dozen other voices, but hers stood out.

"Pepper…?"

"_Pepper is with us because she chose us, accepted us and opened her arms to us. We only look out for her no matter what in return for hospitality."_ She said as she slowly turned so that she had Tony dangling off the edge by his arm. He knew that wasn't her because she would never talk in the third person…or hold him over the city at the top of the Empire State Building.

"If you're looking out for her, why are you taking over her?" Tony shot back. The symbiot chuckled dryly shaking its head as the mask crawled over Pepper's face closing around her entire head just showing her pure white eyes.

"_Pepper needs us so we will do anything to make sure we never leave her unlike some people…always off saving the lives of the innocent strangers and neglecting the ones who care most about you. You have no clue Stark and that's something that will bring you to your knees." _

"Do you think that's what Pepper would want?" He retorted. The symbiot narrowed its eyes at him for a moment before cocking Pepper's head to the side.

"_We want what Pepper wants." _And with that the symbiot let go letting Tony fall only a few feet before his boot thrusters kicked in. He let his mask close around his face as he moved back up to the top of the building only to see the symbiot parading around in Pepper's body a long distance away. Tony grit his teeth as he flew after her, pushing his thrusters to their limit only to realize that no matter how fast he went she was faster.

Tony decided this would not be easy and he ordered his computer to call Rhodey. The phone rang multiple times before he received a groggy moan as a hello on the other end of the line. Obviously Rhodey had just been asleep and Tony was kind enough to wake him up.

"Dude it's like one in the morning…are you serious?" Rhodey said taking a small pause to yawn.

"Rhodey Pepper's in trouble." Tony said simply as he kept his eyes locked on the symbiot as it moved more towards the inside of the city where more of the life was. That small bit of information was enough to wake Rhodey up.

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly. Tony groaned as he watched her launch into the air, jumping to a much taller building and Rhodey made a small noise of urgency for his explanation.

"She's corruption, but her suit is doing just that. It's corrupting her and if I don't get it off…I have no idea what it might do to her." Tony said, his voice cracked with distress towards the end of his explanation and Rhodey let out an exasperated sigh.

"That girl never goes anywhere without her cell phone so I'll get to the lab and keep a trace no both of you guys, just don't do anything rash." Rhodey said.

"No promises." Tony muttered as he noticed Pepper slow down as she approached Time Square. She jump down into the center of the street, her feet causing a minor earthquake as she did so, but it was enough to cause cars to swerve and people to start to flee from the scene. The symbiot laughed in an amused manner as it gave the ground a nice punch causing another small earthquake.

"Pepper!" Tony called out as he hovered above. The symbiot lifted its head and let out another amused laugh.

"_Aw I'm flattered that Iron Man himself would be concerned over our well being but too bad he's just gonna die trying. Leave us alone if you know what's good for you! Pepper needs us!" _The symbiot yelled letting one of those star shaped unibeams fly towards Tony. He quickly moved out the way as he tried to come up with a way to get the symbiot off of Pepper without hurting her.

"Pepper wouldn't want any of this! Why would she want to cause some of the chaos she wants to prevent?" Tony questioned.

"_They're all against us no matter what now. They'll all want us gone but Pepper doesn't! Pepper loves us!" _The symbiot retorted as it launched at Tony latching onto him and bringing him crashing into the center of the street causing a low dent to form. Tony did his best to keep her hands away from him as he gripped onto her wrists.

"Nobody is against Pepper! I just think that they would want her back to her normal self." Tony commented in fake nonchalance as he kicked her over his head sending her crashing into a neon sign which he quickly regret when he saw her fall to the side walk. His regret left him as he saw her flip back onto her feet and let out a low growl.

"_Why would you care!? You never cared!"_ She said as she ran at Tony landing a punch across his face and sending him flying. She didn't give him a chance to get up and regain himself as she brought a foot down on his chest. He tried to remove it with brute force, but it was all in vain.

The symbiot chuckled darkly as she put more force in pinning him down there with her foot. The star on her chest was glowing very bright now and sparking dangerously.

"_We are in tune with Pepper's every thought; her needs and wants. All we want is what she wants."_ The symbiot said as the mask melted from Pepper's face. The scowl that seemed permanent on her face was malicious and full of rage and her white eyes were narrowed dangerously.

"Pepper…you have to listen to me…you have to gain back control." Tony coaxed as he struggled underneath her foot. Her face went blank for a moment before a look of sadness and anger came over her.

"_All I wanted was to feel useful! To help you more than you could imagine! Why couldn't you except that!?" _Pepper said as she tried to land a punch to the face of his mask. Obviously the symbiot was still in control, but for some reason Tony knew that wasn't what it was forcing her to say.

Instead of letting her bash his face in he launched his own unibeam that sent her flying into the air and into one of the many jumbo screens scattered around the area. The sound of static and electricity crackled before Pepper went falling towards the ground. With the small amount of power Tony had left he launched up to catch her.

"Tony! You're power levels are extremely low." He could hear Rhodey scold. He went on anyways letting Pepper drop into his arms. He gazed down at her to see her frowning and her eyes still that eerie white.

"_Big mistake." _The symbiot growled before latching onto his shoulder and fixing it so that his boot thrusters didn't work by infecting his system. They both went plummeting to the ground with Pepper on top and Tony taking the harsh impact of the fall.

"Tony! Tony do you hear me!?" Rhodey called out but Tony made no effort to respond.

"_Now you wish I was helping you! Is it because I'm a threat? Well look who messed up big time Tony! I wanted to make you happy and the only way was to help you with your forsaken pledge to help those in need and avenge your father! All the while you spend no time paying attention to the fact that some people who really love you are worried sick about you wishing they could help more than coming up with some five minute plan! Why couldn't you see that!? Why couldn't you care!?" _She yelled as she had him pinned down by the shoulders.

Tony's suit gave that annoying reminder about reserved power levels being depleted and Tony knew that meant bad things for his heart. Pepper didn't seem to care as she poured out all those feelings that she had been bottling up. It didn't take Tony long to realize that those bottled up feeling was what was fueling the symbiot.

"Pepper…I know you can fight this because you've been through so much. You show me every day just how smart and strong you are so why do you need the symbiot to help you?" Tony managed to get out.

"_No…She needs us..."_

"No you don't Pepper! I know sometimes you're not given enough credit but it's not about that! When it comes down to it, all that matters is that we're still together by the end. I do care about both you and Rhodey that I would never risk you guys so why are you?"

"_Because we want to help."_

"Help as yourself because you don't need some symbiot to make you any better! I know this may sound cliché but you are perfect just the way you are and that's why I like you."

In response, Tony got a small chuckle. His eyes widened as he saw her hazel eyes return as she looked at him.

"You like me…?" She said lowly as the pressure on his shoulders decreased a bit.

"Pepper? Are you alright?" He questioned quickly. She opened her mouth to respond only to let out a small yelp as the star on her chest began to spark once again. She lowered her head as she brought her hands up to clutch the now burning feeling in her chest and Tony sat up with fear etched across his face.

She lifted her head only to show her eyes were once again white to his dismay and a blank look came over her.

"_If we can't help her, neither can you." _The symbiot said simply. Without giving Tony the chance to react, Pepper let out a scream as a shock ran through her body and Tony could see the excess energy running through her. Worst of all he knew she couldn't take it.

The symbiot screamed along with her as green lightning came from the star before plunging back into her causing the symbiot to melt from her body before making its way towards the nearest escape which happened to be a gutter. Tony was too concerned with the fact that Pepper looked to have extensive injuries to her chest to care.

He quickly gave the order to his computer to look her over and it gave him no source of good news. Nearly every internal organ was damaged and she had a concussion, not to mention minor deafness.

"Rhodey I'm bringing Pepper back to the lab!" Tony said as he picked up the ginger haired girl in his arms.

"Are you crazy!? Bring her to a hospital! By the look of things she's dying Tony! She needs to be cared for now!" Rhodey exclaimed in protest. With the small amount of power Tony had left he lifted off in the direction of the lab.

"I know. She can't withstand prolonged surgery!" He said as he swallowed back the lump that was forming in his throat as he gazed down at Pepper's unconscious form. Her breathing was shallow and labored and her face was twisted in the most pained expression.

"Tony you can't be thinking what I think your thinking." Rhodey said lowly.

"It's the only option Rhodey…she'll die if we don't." Tony said.

* * *

_Pretty dramatic ending there huh? Yea I wasn't expecting this story to be so short but I just couldn't stop typing and each time I actually tried it would be at the worst place possible. I don't know if you classify this as a cliffhanger but considering the next chapter it shouldn't be. Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I thank you for reading. Review and tell me what you think._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	9. Heart

_Okay I believe this story is beginning to come to a close due to all the dramatics and everything that has been done since the last chapter. This chapter is going to based off of a bit of information I found from the Invincible Iron Man, never read it and if it wasn't so old I would read it. Haha, enjoy._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Nine: Heart_

* * *

Pepper let out a small groan as a sudden rush of pain washed over her entire body as she tried to move on her side. She was completely lost as to what could have caused her such pain and whatever happened she immediately regretted it. She clenched her eyes shut and sucked some air through her teeth as she tried to sit up instead of roll out of the bed she was obviously laying in.

"Whoa that's not a good idea." A very familiar voice practically scolded. Pepper's brow furrowed at the clarity that the voice had to her. Her hearing was never so sharp and perfect before. She slowly eased her eyes open only to have to blink a few times to let them adjust.

Once her eyes were less glazed over and foggy she was able to take in the perfect detail of Tony hovering over her with a weak smile on his face. She blinked again, but this time in astonishment. It was almost like she could see everything with the sharpest detail and most accurate eye sight. She could see well past Tony at the high ceiling that was to the lab.

"Tony?" She managed to croak out as she tried to hold back her own smile. His weak smile grew into a grin as he nodded and placed a hand on her forehead, gently brushing back her ginger bang out of her face.

"How ya feeling?" He asked gently, never breaking eye contact with her. She shrugged lightly, wincing a bit as she did so due to the fact that she was still aching all over.

"Fine…what happened?" She finally asked. Tony's grin faltered a bit as he swallowed. He had anticipated the moment she would ask about what had happened to her and put her into such a state. It actually caused his stomach to lurch at the thought of what happened and just how close to death she was. How she would take everything now his greatest concern, now that she would be okay.

"Well…do you remember the symbiot?" Tony began carefully. Pepper lowered her head as her brow furrowed in thought. After a short moment she lifted her head and nodded. Tony refrained from continuing hoping that she would be able to piece things together on her own.

"It was attached to me…everything about me was stronger; more enhanced…" She started out. She was speaking more to herself than to Tony but he listened in, biting his lip as he watched her face twist in confusion a few times. "I was an awesome hero…" She laughed with a small nod. "I helped people and I helped you...but…"

She looked up at Tony whose expression was slightly grim as he forced a smile. Her smile faded as her eyes widened. Like a slide show it all came back to her; the symbiot taking control, her fight with Iron Man, then the symbiot leaving her to die. She gasped inwardly as she lowered her head once again bringing a hand up to rub her temple.

"You remember perfectly don't you?" Tony asked hesitantly. She nodded with her head still down and her eyes clenched shut. She swallowed back the lump that was beginning to form in her throat as she lifted her head to lock her hazel eyes with Tony's blue ones.

"I also did more harm than good. When that symbiot took control it was like I was pushed into my own mind as it fed off of my emotions. You were right…that thing was developing a mind of its own while using mine to do it."

Tony nodded slowly and Pepper shook her head as she placed her hands in her lap. After everything that happened she's surprised that nobody was looking for her and trying to take her down. Her mask was down at one point and people could have recognized her. She could not believe just how obnoxious she was and how ignorant she acted over the matter of simply helping Tony to impress him, because that was all it was; her trying to impress him.

The remorse she felt when the symbiot first latched onto her returned and she felt so shameful for disregarding it later on. She could have killed one of her best friends and not even care…well Tony was much more than a friend to her. He was like that significant other that caused her cheeks to flush, her heart to drop or her excitement to increase tenfold. It was hard for her to admit it but she knew she liked him and only wanted what was best for him.

"So…how am I alive? That thing had me walking towards the white light." Pepper joked trying to lift the heavy tension that hung in the air. Her cheeks were flushing scarlet due to the fact that she had been thinking about just how much she actually cared for Tony and when it came to her emotions she spoke to mask them.

Pepper's brow furrowed in confusion as she saw Tony visibly cringe at her question. Obviously he had not taken her to a hospital because she was currently reclining in a bed in his lab, so how was he going to explain his alternate method to saving her life without scaring her or freaking her out? Rhodey said she would have a very dramatic reaction considering it was Pepper, Tony was just wondering how to handle it.

"Well, there was extensive injury done mainly to your chest so…" Tony trailed off as he tapped on the center of her chest. Instead of her laughing as she usually would have done since she was ticklish there, a small tapping sound echoed through the silence. Pepper could feel her heart drop as she refused to look down and breathing began to become foreign to her.

"No way…" She breathed. Tony frowned lightly as her eyes slowly turned downward. Her eyes widened twice their normal size as she saw; sitting in the center of her collar, falling just into her chest was a dim glow that was being filtered by the material of a red t-shirt. It was a circular shaped glow and she had only seen one like it on Tony when she had the pleasure of watching him recharge. At the time she was more focused on the fact that he was shirtless and not on the fact that he had a mechanical implant in his chest.

Pepper pulled the collar of the shirt out and looked down it to see an identical implant resting within her chest. She also took note of the fact that her bra was gone and that her entire torso from the waist up was completely covered in binding. She let out a shaky breath as she lifted her head to look at Tony. He forced a smile upon seeing her very shocked expression and instead of letting the awkward silence swallow him, he decided to speak.

"That's an electromagnet…much more high tech than mine; actually that was supposed to be my replacement implant. I've been working on it for a while. It increased your IQ by twenty five points, your hearing and eyesight should be perfect and you metabolism should increase. In addition to all that, your strength should at least triple and your reflexes and react time should speed up a bit." Tony babbled.

Pepper listened as she glanced down at her shirt every few moments to take in the detail of the implant that was now what she depended on to live. It was a shock nonetheless that she had to receive such a life changing implant in order to survive but what drew her attention the most was the fact that this was the replacement Tony had been working on for himself.

"It's keeping your heart beat on track mostly while sending electromagnetic pulses throughout your body with each beat to stimulate it and help it to remain stable and obviously enhance it." Tony continued. Pepper glanced up at him and in a split second she had her arms tightly wrapped around his neck in a hug.

Although it strained her muscles to do such a quick action she didn't care. It only made her feelings for him grow over the fact that he would save her life, even in such a drastic manner, and also the fact that he had given her _his_ implant was something she would always be thankful for as she help a piece of Tony within her.

"Thank you." She muttered into his shoulder. Tony got past the initial shock of the fact that she had nearly tackled him with a hug and returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her waist.

After everything that has happened, he understood more about both Pepper and himself than he could have with just scratching the surface of the entire issue. That was the only good this situation brought. The symbiot had made it blatantly obvious that it was feeding off the fact that Pepper cared so much for him and he paid her no mind and that had knocked him upside the head (literally) and completely shifted his perspective of how he treated his friends…Pepper in particular because when he thought about losing her he came to terms with just how much he needed her.

"You're welcome." Tony laughed lightly as he gently rubbed her back. Pepper chuckled as well as she pulled away from the hug but she did not go back into her laying position. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck as she smiled gratefully at him. She would be in his debt for life now.

He returned her smile until he took note of just how close they now were. His eyes darted down to her lips and he mentally scolded himself for even letting the thought pass through his mind. He felt as though he would be taking advantage of her considering she had just woken up for a fourteen hour coma and she was still weak.

On the other hand Pepper was thinking the exact opposite. She had put herself in that position on purpose, hoping he would fall to the temptation. The anxious look on his face was telling her that her plan was working and she had to fight back a proud smirk.

Tony cautiously leaned in towards her letting the small gap between them close. They were millimeters apart when the sound of a door hissing open jerked them apart with Pepper laying back in the bed and Tony sitting up straight towards the edge of the door.

"Hey Pepper, you're awake." Rhodey laughed lightly as he approached the bed where she was laid. His brow furrowed when he noticed the blank looks on both her and Tony's face that was accompanied with a blush showing up on both of them. "Did I miss something?"

"Nope, she just woke up actually." Tony quickly lied as he stood to his feet. Pepper nodded slowly as she put on her best weak and defenseless face. Rhodey glanced between the two and narrowed his eyes in a suspicious manner.

"Aw so I didn't miss the kiss?" Rhodey asked nonchalantly. Pepper gasped and shot up to sit up straight and Tony coughed awkwardly as his blush deepened. Pepper shot Rhodey a glare as she swung a fist at him, hitting him in the stomach.

"Shut up Rhodey!" She scorned as she watching him clutch his stomach in pain and take a step away from her.

"What? Is it my fault that I can read people easily?" He question shrugging his shoulders. He was now receiving a glare from both Pepper and Tony.

"Yes." They chorused.

"Whatever. What's the big deal any way? Was I about to walk in on something more than a kiss?"

"Rhodey!" Tony exclaimed slapping a hand to his forehead.

"What is wrong with you!?" Pepper exclaimed as she tried to punch at him again. This time she missed, however Rhodey was still thrown back a few feet with a jerk. He let out a yell as he hit the floor and both Pepper and Tony stared with wide eyes.

"Uh oh…" Tony breathed. Pepper snapped her head towards him with surprise written all over her face.

"What do you mean 'uh oh'!?" Pepper exclaimed.

"Yea! What the heck was that!?" Rhodey yelled as he regained himself and stood to his feet.

Tony glanced between the two before letting out nervous chuckle.

* * *

_Okay I'm leaving it there for now. Yes it is another cliffhanger. I've been making a lot of these lately. I don't know if you guys are enjoying them (probably not) but it's the way things are gonna get done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I REALLY hope you review and tell me what you think. _

_MethodTOmadnesS _


	10. Powers

_Oh my gosh I am so happy. I got the last of my finals done, I just got to watch my second to favorite movie and I have been informed that they are making a Last Airbender based upon ATLA which is sort of a shock. My friend is obsessed with it so I'll trade her this information for the Iron Man poster she promised me. Haha._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Chapter Ten: Powers_

* * *

"Well!? Go ahead and explain!" Pepper demanded as she swung her feet over the side of the bed she had been put to rest in. Tony gave a sheepish smile as he nervously scratched the back of his head while searching his mind for the best explanation that wouldn't confuse her. As he stalled for time Rhodey had regained his composer and approached them, keeping his distance from Pepper who had her eyes narrowed as she awaited her explanation.

"Well as I told you, the implant is an electromagnet; a minor defect must have enhanced more than just your normal biological traits." Tony said choosing his words carefully. He avoided looking into her now wide eyes and Rhodey's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean defect!?" She exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. This only caused her to lose her balance very quickly due to the fact that her feet were not touching the ground, even in an upright position. She fell forward with a yelp and Tony quickly stepped forward with his arms out to catch her. She fell into him and he wrapped his arms around her waist to support her.

"You okay?" He asked looking down at her. Her head was pressed up against his chest and she could feel his own implant through his shirt. She lifted her head to look up at him without pulling back and forced a smile as she tried to remain calm. It became obvious that the implant had no effect on her emotional response because her heart rate shot up as her cheeks flushed scarlet due to the close proximity.

"Yea I'm fine…" She muttered. He smiled lightly at her and her forced smile softened as she looked up into his blue eyes. Rhodey gave a loud fake cough bringing them both back to reality and Tony's gently smile vanish as he tried to situate Pepper on her own two feet, however as he did so he noticed that she looked a bit taller than him now. His brow furrowed as he looked down to see her feet were still not touching the ground.

"Oh…" He breathed quickly lifting his head. Pepper's brow furrowed as she glanced down to see what had surprised him, only to let out a nice scream as she lost her balance once again, this time falling backwards. Tony grabbed her wrists and pulled her back and held her hands to keep her upright, however this did not stop her already pink cheeks from turning red.

"What's wrong with me!? Why am I not touching the ground!?" She whined as she wobbled a bit. Tony's hands tightened around hers and she bit her lip nervously as she tried to focus on what he had to say to explain this.

"The electromagnet is interfering with your magnetic field making you interfere with others which is why you had the ability to repulse Rhodey." Tony explained quickly. Rhodey quirked an eyebrow while Pepper cocked her head to the side in confusion. Seeing their lack of understanding Tony let out an exasperated sigh. "Pepper has the ability to control magnetic fields." He deadpanned.

"That means she can basically control anything." Rhodey pointed out. Pepper gasped and her eyes got wide with that excited gleam coming to them. Tony shot Rhodey a look and Rhodey shrugged in response.

"That's amazing! So I can move things at whim just by controlling the magnetic field around it?" Pepper asked quickly as she glanced down at her feet which were still about a foot above the floor.

"If the object has a magnetic field, then yes. That's basically a lot of things, especially metals and different forms of technology." Tony pointed out. Pepper let out an excited squeal as she removed her hands from Tony's only to latch them around his neck. "Gah…Pepper!" He exclaimed as he struggled to get free of her death grip.

"This is so awesome! I can't believe it! I actually have a _super power_ and it's all thanks to you Tony. Oh I'm so happy right now I could kiss you!" She babbled very quickly although the last part seemed to come out loud and clear making Tony stop struggling as Rhodey began to laugh.

"Why don't you just kiss him then? I'm sure that's what you both want." Rhodey laughed crossing his arms over his chest. His laughter began to slowly fade when he noticed the death glares he was receiving from both of them. He smiled nervously in response as he slowly began to backpedal towards the door. "I think I'll go get Pepper some food she must be hungry." He quickly said before exiting the lab.

The door hissed shut and the tension that had made the air thick dropped as both Tony and Pepper softened their expressions and turned back towards each other. Pepper still had her arms latched tightly around his neck as the two of them stood there stiffly finding their current position awkward; bodies pressed up against each other with faces mere inches apart with the talk of kissing still fresh in their minds.

"I'm sorry about the whole magnetic field defect. That wasn't initially supposed to happen." Tony said trying to break the awkward silence. Pepper gave him a reassuring smile as she shook her head.

"You don't have to be sorry. This is actually really cool! I don't know how I'll be able to explain this to my father but being able to control things and the fact that my senses are all enhanced after the symbiot left me for dead with my system fried is really cool; I'm really happy." She laughed. Tony gave her that sweet smile that she had always admired and her breath hitched in her throat.

"I'm glad. You really scared me…and Rhodey. I-_We_ thought we were going to lose you for a moment there." He said choosing his words carefully. Pepper laughed at his obvious slip ups and her heart dropped in the most pleasant way.

"Well I'm lucky to have a friend who was willing to save my life by giving me an emergency implant." She said quickly. He nodded, his smile softening a bit as he locked eyes with her. "The best part is having this implant will always remind me of that and I will never forget just how much my best friends care for me. It's like I have you right next to my heart."

Tony nodded slowly as he glanced down at the dimly glowing implant that was in her chest. He noticed that hers was aligned with his and there was a literal magnetic pull instead of her repulsing it like she had done with Rhodey and the floor. He lifted his gaze to meet hers once again and he couldn't help but find a small bit of irony when it came to the small magnetic pull. It wasn't just the implant.

"So I'm your best friend?" He asked hesitantly. Pepper automatically nodded in response thinking the answer would be obvious so why would he have to ask.

"Of course Tony! I don't know how I've been living without you! I mean without you the best excitement I could get in my life was looking through FBI files or trying to follow my dad on a mission or something like that. Everything that has happened has made my life so…"

Pepper was cut off by his lips pressing to hers. She was completely caught off guard considering she was so focused on talking that she didn't notice him leaning in towards her. Her eyes grew wide for a moment in shock and her body tensed as Tony wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her flush against him.

It was sweet kiss filled with innocence and suppressed feelings that were finally being let out. It was a simple expression of affection with a promise hidden underneath. Before Pepper could even relax he hesitantly pulled away with a soft goofy smile on her face.

"Fewer words Pepper…" He muttered against her lips. She nodded numbly and his smile turned crooked. "Now let me rephrase the question; am I just a best friend to you or something more?" He asked gently before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Umm…well yea of course you're my friend and of course I like you. I mean you're really cool and sweet and cute and I have a lot of fun with you so how could I not like you. I thought the symbiot made it obvious." Pepper babbled quickly as she turned a bright shade of red. Tony laughed lightly and leaned his forehead against hers in an affectionate manner.

"I said fewer words." He laughed. She gave a nervous chuckle as she shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "I owe you an apology." He added.

"Why?" She said as her head cocked to the side in curiosity and confusion.

"Because I never gave your feelings a second thought. That's what the symbiot was right about…I was so focused on the company, Stane, and Iron Man that I forgot that I was going against what my father wanted for me and that was for me to have a normal life." He explained.

"Yea, but being Iron Man makes you uplift your father's dream of helping people. Didn't you say that he told you your inventions could save lives? Well he may not have known it was the Iron Man suit at the time but I think you're doing everything right."

"Yea, but the only thing I got things wrong too. In the back of my mind I knew I was disregarding the fact that I cared for you and that you liked me mainly because I wanted to keep you safe. However my plans sorta backfired and you ended up getting hurt because an alien was feeding off of how my ignorance made you feel."

"Stupid thing." Pepper muttered turning her head to the side a bit. She had been doing just fine suppressing those feelings but everything was for the better at this point.

"That's why I'm sorry Pepper." He said paying no regard to her little comment on the symbiot. He smiled at her gently as he brought his gaze to meet hers once again. "The fact that I could have lost you made me realize just how much I needed you."

"Yea I get that a lot." Pepper joked with a grin. Tony laughed lightly in response and pulled away from her. "So…where does this put us?" She asked carefully. He gave her that sweet smile again and she bit her lip anxiously.

"Well I thought you were my girlfriend now." He said coyly with a careless shrug. Pepper gasped and threw her hands in the air.

"Yes!" In her expression of excitement, Tony was thrown back into a wall due to the fact that Pepper's magnetic field had pushed him back. He let out a small groan as he fell to the ground and Pepper cringed as she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"That's okay…you still need to work on controlling that." He sighed as he regained himself from the sudden hit and stood to his feet. "We'll work on that together." He added with a reassuring smile. Pepper grinned in return as she glanced down at her implant.

* * *

"This is ridiculous…" Pepper groaned a she sat in the corner of the lab. There was a rice paper screen separating her from Rhodey and Tony due to the fact that she was recharging and she was shirtless. Recharging soon became as an annoying factor when it came to her implant but she knew just how important it was.

She has been coping with the need to recharge for about a month now as she adjusted to her new life. Over those short four weeks Pepper had raised her grades in all of her classes including gym where she was never tha good. Tony instructed her to take it easy for the first few days so she did so by managing to stay home from school.

She has yet to tell her father about her implant considering that she would have to replay the story from start to finish, which meant she would have to tell him what happened to his missing symbiotic creature. She would also have to explain to him how she got the implant and that would lead straight to Tony and very possibly, Iron Man so she decided that hiding the glow in her best was her best option.

Speaking of Tony, he and Pepper had been going through a training progress that would help pepper gain better control of her electromagnetic abilities. Pepper was now able to walk without randomly floating in the air and she could also move small objects at her whim. It was gradual where she would switch to larger objects but just to be safe she was only allowed to move things such as pencils or water bottles.

When the two of them weren't working on her new found ability they would be spending as much time together as they could, letting their relationship grow every time they were with one another. Rhodey was always there to throw in the casual joke and everything seemed to be back to normal…

"I think I'm done!" Pepper called from behind the rice paper screen.

"Pepper it's been five minutes." Tony pointed out as he glanced down at his wrist watch.

"So?" She retorted quickly. Tony rolled his eyes and Rhodey brought his palm to his forehead.

"Pepper, do you want to die when that thing runs out of power?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm. Tony gave him a blank stare which he paid no mind to.

"I barely use my powers so I already have reserved power stored in this thing! C'mon guys this is really boring!" Pepper whined. Rhodey shook his head.

"You really know how to pick them Tony." He sighed.

"I heard that!" Pepper exclaimed. Before either of them knew what was happening, Rhodey was flung across the room and into a wall. Tony openly laughed as he watched his friend fall to the floor.

"Pepper!" Rhodey yelled. Pepper snickered evilly from her charging spot.

"Yes I really know how to pick them." Tony said with a smug smile. Rhodey rolled his eyes as he shook his head.

* * *

_Yes, only one more chapter to go! Well that's not a yes moment but once this story is finished I can start my next story called __The Boss__. That one should be fun considering it will be much like Forbidden Fruit…only a tad bit more out there if you know what I mean. (No I'm not a pervert) My friend came up with the idea during a final. (Thank you Stephanie!) Anyhoo I hope you enjoyed this chapter and REVIEW._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


	11. Epilogue: Iron Woman

_You didn't think I was done just yet did you? Yea I still got something to get out there before this story is OFFICIALLY over and I go ahead and start a new story. Now everything is right with the world, Pepper and Tony are together, Rhodey teases them to no end and I have Whitney locked in my basement along with Gene…well I don't hate Gene, I actually like his character a lot! I just want him locked in my basement. Haha man I'm weird._

_MethodTOmadnesS_

* * *

_Epilogue: Iron Woman_

* * *

"Tony you know I hate surprises!" Pepper complained as she was guided towards the lab door with Tony's hands clamped over her eyes. Rhodey was holding her hands and slowly guiding her along with him. The two boys exchanged smiles as they paid no regard to Pepper's protests or the scowl on her face.

"Just hold on, will ya Pepper. It's just on the other side of the lab door." Rhodey coaxed as they approached the door and he typed in the password for the door to hiss open and allow them access. Tony's smile grew as he nudged Pepper forward.

"It'll all be worth it…" Tony promised as Pepper took a few cautious steps forward, keeping her arms out just in case she would trip from her lack of sight. Once they were fully into the lab and the door had closed behind them, the ginger haired girl was led to a table.

Rhodey and Tony silently exchanged words; Rhodey giving Tony the okay to remove his hands from Pepper's eyes. Pepper simply stood there, her mouth twisted to the side in annoyance and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Okay Pepper, open your eyes." Tony said as his hands fell from her eyes. She snapped her hazel orbs open and glanced down only to have her eyes widen way past normal size.

"AH! Are you serious!?" She screeched as she did a very high jump. Tony smiled inwardly, proud of himself, not for what he had done, but for being able to make her so happy.

"Yup…say hello to the Mark 1616 also known as Iron Woman." Tony said arrogantly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Resting on the table was in fact an Iron Man armor that was clearly built for a woman by the way it accommodated the female structure and characteristics. It was less broad than the original Iron Man suit and instead of making it red and yellow, it was red and silver matching one of Tony's other suits accordingly.

"Oh my gosh this is _beyond_ amazing!" Pepper exclaimed as she ran a hand down the leg of the armor. She smiled inwardly as she let her fingers linger on the chilled metal.

"I built it to accommodate your electromagnetic powers. It will enhance them and your strength but I didn't bother putting repulse thrusters in it since you can basically fly on your own and I don't think you would really need weapons." Tony exclaimed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up from the suit and grinned before tackling him in a hug.

Tony stumbled back a bit as she wrapped her legs around his waist before cupping his cheeks in her hands and jerking his head towards hers in a bruising kiss. It took Tony a moment to get over the initial shock of the bold move and soon enough he began to give back just as much enthusiasm she was giving him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, supporting her, and Rhodey just stared on with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Um…guys?" Rhodey inserted. He was completely ignored as Pepper pulled away leaning her forehead against Tony's and giving an excited giggle. Tony smiled in return as the two of them gazed into each other's eyes. "Oh, I just might puke!" Rhodey exclaimed. Again he was ignored.

"So I take it that you like the suit?" Tony questioned. Pepper playfully rolled her eyes at him

"Well duh! Talk about best gift you could ever give me!" She exclaimed with a broad grin. "Thank you!"

"Anything for you." He stated in a matter of fact tone. Her grin turned into a tender smile as she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Am I invisible or something!? I'm sorry to cut in on your romantic moment but…" Rhodey was cut off by Pepper shooting a hand out in his direction sending him flying into the closest wall. He hit the wall with a thud before falling to the ground groaning. "Never mind…"

"Where were we?" Pepper asked playfully.

"I'm not going to answer that because of how cliché it sounded." He retorted flatly. Pepper rolled her eyes for a second time before leaning in for a gentler kiss.

* * *

_That's it. That's all I wanted to put out there. Keeping in mind that I stole Mark 1616 from the Invincible Iron Man, I have no clue what that comic is about I was just (Shamefully) googling. Anyhoo, now that this story is finished look out for my next one called The Boss. Prepare for steaminess people. I love writing it. Ahaha_

_Thank you all sooooo much for reading._

_MethodTOmadnesS_


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